Transmission of 140 Mb/s Signals Over Single-Mode Fiber Using Surface- and Edge-Emitting 1.3 µm LEDs

It is desirable to use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as sources in cost-sensitive loop applications to exploit their low cost and high reliability compared with present injection lasers. It is also highly desirable to install single-mode fiber (SMF) to permit future utilization of its extreme bandwidth for upgrading, possibly beyond 1 Gb/s. Traditionally, however, LEDs used with SMF have been considered impractical due to the low launched power.