This handbook is an authoritative, comprehensive reference on optical networks, the backbone of today’s communication and information society. The book reviews the many underlying technologies that enable the global optical communications infrastructure, but also explains current research trends targeted towards continued capacity scaling and enhanced networking flexibility in support of an unabated traffic growth fueled by ever-emerging new applications.

The book is divided into four parts: Optical Subsystems for Transmission and Switching, Core Networks, Datacenter and Super-Computer Networking, and Optical Access and Wireless Networks.