Increasing channel capacity and range on urban optical analog AM-VSB CATV systems

It is often desirable to increase the channel capacity and the covered distance in lightwave TV systems. For doing so, the conventional CATV channel set - usually placed within the 50 to 550 MHz frequency range - may be up-shifted, by means of a subcarrier, to a low microwave frequency range, typically located at 2 GHz. Next, this shifted spectrum directly modulates a laser diode, in the analog AM mode. It is shown that this up-shift procedure may dislodge a number of nonlinear distortion components from the useful TV band. Consequently, the system effective optical modulation index may be increased, allowing for an expansion in the channel capacity or covered distance. This enlarged capacity or distance may compensate for the modest price increase concerning the up-shift equipment. All the performance evaluations presented here were carried out with a rigorous numerical model, and assuming the lightwave systems used the economical AM-VSB format. Index Terms - CATV by optical fiber, microwave subcarrier, laser modeling, SCM AM-VSB TV system, lightwave TV system design.