Cascaded WDM passive optical network with a highly shared source

We propose and demonstrate a cascaded distribution fabric for WDM passive optical networks (WDM-PON) that delivers distinct data to potentially tens of thousands of subscribers using a single, centralized WDM source. This is possible by assigning a unique time slot to each wavelength, and replicating this "bit-interleaved" WDM signal in cascaded stages of amplification and power splitting, before data is encoded for each WDM-PON by a single TDM modulator.