text:
The Institute of Directors has appointed Stephen Martin, chief executive of the Clugston Group, as director general.
Mr Martin has led the Clugston Group, a large privately-owned construction, logistics and property company based in Scunthorpe, since 2006.
Originally from Northern Ireland, Mr Martin has been recognised personally with several construction industry awards, and has been highly commended twice in the IoD's own Director of the Year Awards. In 2009, he took part in the Channel 4 TV show, Undercover Boss, which saw him going incognito in his own company to learn what employees really thought of the firm.
He will succeed Simon Walker who will completed his term of office towards the end of the year.
Mr Martin said: "I am very excited to be taking on this new challenge at the IoD, working together with Lady Judge to make sure we are the organisation of choice for all company directors.
"I have found the support IoD membership provides invaluable in my role running a business based in North Lincolnshire, and want to further strengthen the Institute's position in all regions and nations of the UK.
"The IoD's mission to provide excellent professional development for directors is hugely important to ensuring British companies are well-run, and I look forward to continuing innovation in director training."
Lady Barbara Judge, chairman of the IoD, said: "I am very pleased we have found such a strong leader to take over as director general at the IoD. He has demonstrated his commercial ability at large and small companies over many years and will continue the excellent work of Simon Walker in making sure we continue to provide the best possible support, training and representation for British business leaders.
"Stephen is a long-standing IoD Fellow who has played an active part in the business community in Yorkshire and the Humber. He understands the challenges faced by company directors across the UK and I look forward to working closely with him as we help our members adapt to the new world we find ourselves in after the Brexit vote."
Mr Walker, who has been director general of the IoD since 2011, said: "Many congratulations to Stephen on his appointment. The last five years have been a tumultuous time for businesses, but the IoD is in very good shape to support members through the challenging times ahead. I have every confidence that Stephen, working alongside Barbara, will be able to take the organisation to even greater heights."


text:
You are Here : Moneycontrol Live TV CNBC TV18 Latest Videos See low gold demand; real FII exodus is yet to come: Nomura
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text: I see a lot of talk of letting stuff cure before the next coat of something. Is there a general rule of how long or what type of product should be allowed to cure or is it everything? I detailed the WRX in one day and polished, sealed and waxed within a few hours of each other. Bad idea?


text:
Mannums Rest - Quiet romantic getaway
House, Mannum
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 19 reviews
Confirmation within 24hr
From $122 per night {{quote.pricing.message}} Total {{quote.pricing.price | format:'currency':'short'}} for
Min 2 - 3 nights stay
MANNUM is situated on the broad reaches of the Lower Murray and is easily accessible by road, only 80kms if you take the scenic route via Gumeracha and Birdwood or 100 km from Adelaide along the South Eastern Freeway via Murray Bridge.
This easy accessibility makes MANNUM one of the most popular day trip venues in South Australia, and with its natural beauty, unique history and heritage, the area offers visitors the opportunity to relax in a pleasant, friendly environment.
Only 5 minute walk to the main street, with public boat ramp and ferry services available 365 days each year.
Holiday House
$250 bond required + $60 cleaning surcharge.
You will need to supply your own linen. Sheets, pillow covers and towels
Pillows and quilts are provided for all beds.
3 bed rooms.
Room 1 = 1 x Queen,
Room 2= 1 x Queen,
Room 3 = 1 x bunk double on bottom and single on top
Living room = Sofa Bed
Stay for 7 nights and only pay for 6 nights.
With open living and 3 bedrooms, the main upstairs with toilet and wash basin, and sliding door to a balcony deck, overlooking miles of scenery and parts of the Murray, the perfect spot to take in the view, The rear timber deck comfortably caters for entertainers, protected from the elements and perfect for family gatherings.
Unique,different and energy efficient. Mannums Rest is a 6 year old log cabin home designed to be nature friendly with a warmth that cant be found in a run of the mill bricks and mortar.
Boasting an industrial strength evaporate air-con, tinted windows, solar panels, water tank with an excellent insulation rating. The environment is happy
When in season feel free to pick from the many fruit trees and herb garden and enjoy a home away from home.
Under Cover parking as well as rear access for a large boat or caravan.
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|Yes No
p/n = per night, p/s = per stay, p/p = per person, p/np = per night and person. Ask the owner to arrange optional extras
Note: Pricing is subject to change, and a minimum stay period and other conditions may apply. You should confirm pricing with the property owner.
Prices listed based on 7 adults. Property has 5 beds and can sleep a maximum 7 people.
- Available
- Unavailable


text:
Up Our Street is recruiting for a part time Community Engagement Officer to cover our increasing work!
Salary scale: £24,531 - £27,208, pro rata
15 hours a week (some evenings and weekends)
25 days annual leave, pro rata
1 year fixed term contract
This job is part of a small team delivering communications and community development projects to inform and inspire a diverse community of people to take an active role in the neighbourhoods of Easton and Lawrence Hill.
You must be able to connect with local people, initiate and deliver projects and build positive relationships with diverse communities. You will be the kind of person who thrives on the challenges of developing creative ideas and a varied workload. You must be self-motivated and a team player. We work hard and we want to do our best for the people of Easton and Lawrence Hill. If you want a rewarding job, working with lots of interesting people and making change happen then this job is for you.
We want to build a staff team that reflects the diverse community we serve. We positively welcome applications from all communities living and working in the inner city.
Closing date: 11am, Friday 12 August
Interviews will be held during week commencing 22 August
If you have any questions contact Tracy Parsons on 0117 954 2834 or email@example.com


text:
Resolved, That the Committee do inquire into the draft
NHS (Wales) Bill.(The Chairman.)
Broadband Cabling in Wales: Mr Graham Hawker, Chief Executive,
and Mr Patrick Sullivan, Director of Media Technology Programmes,
Welsh Development Agency; and Mr David Cleevely, Analysis Consulting
Ltd, were examined
Mr John Davies, Director of Wales, Mr Paul Reynolds, Chief Executive,
BT Wholesale and Mr David Baxter, Director of Strategic Relations,
British Telecommunications plc, were examined.
[Adjourned till Tuesday 23 April at half-past Nine o'clock.


text:
Apple has announced the iPad 2, the successor to the iPad tablet, and competition to the newly announced Sasmung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Motorola XOOM.
The tablet receives a new design that is 33 percent thinner and up to 15 percent lighter than the original iPad and comes with Apple's new dual-core A5 processor.
Other features include: a front-facing VGA camera for FaceTime and PhotoBooth and a rear-facing camera with capability of 720p HD video recording, up to 10 hours of battery life and Smart Covers in a range of vibrant colors.
Apple's Press Release:
SAN FRANCISCO—March 2, 2011—Apple® today introduced iPad™ 2, the next generation of its magical device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading ebooks and much more. iPad 2 features an entirely new design that is 33 percent thinner and up to 15 percent lighter than the original iPad, while maintaining the same stunning 9.7-inch LED-backlit LCD screen. iPad 2 features Apple's new dual-core A5 processor for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics and now includes two cameras, a front-facing VGA camera for FaceTime® and Photo Booth®, and a rear-facing camera that captures 720p HD video, bringing the innovative FaceTime feature to iPad users for the first time. Though it is thinner, lighter, faster and packed with new features, iPad 2 still delivers up to 10 hours of battery life* that users have come to expect. iPad 2 is available in black or white, features models that run on AT&T's and Verizon's 3G networks, and introduces the innovative iPad 2 Smart Cover in a range of vibrant polyurethane and rich leather colors.
Source: Apple.com
. {mosmodule video=http://www.youtube.com/v/kWI3cUuqrsQ}


text:
Do you have the X-factor in the workplace?
Monday November 2, 2009
Jodi Goldman, learnpurple Communications Manager looks at the likeability factor and how it secures votes in the work place - not just in a popular TV show.
Have you been watching the X-factor? No need to be embarrassed, it's happened to the best of us! Even if you haven't you probably will still know what I'm talking about since it's been dominating the press for the last several weeks. I am talking about the 'Jedward' phenomenon. As an image consultant I am finding it very interesting to be honest. here you have two incredibly untalented young boys who cannot sing, can barely remember the lines and can't really dance. Yet, they are becoming increasingly popular. Then you have Danyl Johnson - who is a fantastic performer, has an amazing voice but for some reason is not 'connecting' with the public. Me included: I don't like him at all. Another example of this would be Rachael Adedeji, one of the best voices in the competition, yet voted off by the public last night.
The catch phrase 'likeability' keeps coming up throughout the show, 'they have the likeability factor' (said by Louis in defence of the twins). And it got me thinking about a study done in 2005 by the Harvard Business School - which found that personal feelings toward an employee play a more important role in forming work relationships than is commonly acknowledged. It is even more important than how competent an employee is seen to be.
When given the choice of whom to work with, people will pick one person over another for any number of reasons: the prestige of being associated with a star performer, for example, or the hope that spending time with a strategically placed superior will further their careers. But in most cases, people choose their work partners according to two criteria. One is competence at the job (does Joe know what he's doing?). The other is likeability (is Joe enjoyable to work with?). Obviously, both things matter. Less obvious is how much they matter, and exactly how they matter.
The study was done looking at organisations that covered a variety of attributes - profit and non-profit, large and small, as well as North American and European. They found that these two criteria - competence and likeability, combine to produce four archetypes: the competent jerk, who knows a lot but is unpleasant to deal with (apparently Danyl); the lovable fool, who doesn't know much but is a delight to have around (the twins?); the lovable star, who's both smart and likable (my personal favourite - Olly); and the incompetent jerk, who, well, that's self-explanatory (to be honest, I had thought this is where the twins would be but apparently by public vote, not). These archetypes are caricatures, of course: organisations usually, well, much of the time, weed out both the hopelessly incompetent and the socially clueless. Still, people in an organisation can be roughly classified using a simple matrix.
Their research showed (not surprisingly) that, no matter what kind of organisation they studied, everybody wanted to work with the lovable star, and nobody wanted to work with the incompetent jerk. Things got a lot more interesting, though, when people faced the choice between competent jerks and lovable fools.
The research is extensive and enlightening, but in a nutshell it found that in fact, feelings worked as a gating factor: if someone is strongly disliked, it's almost irrelevant whether or not they are competent; people won't want to work with them anyway. By contrast, if someone is liked, their colleagues will seek out every little bit of competence they have to offer. And this tendency didn't exist only in extreme cases; it was true across the board. So, generally speaking, a little extra likability goes a longer way than a little extra competence in making someone desirable to work with.
We already know that when it comes to our customers, likeability is key - right? Research has found customers' perceptions of the employees they deal with can influence their overall feelings toward a company. Nearly 60% of customers say that, when faced with rudeness, they take their business elsewhere, even if it means going out of their way or paying a higher price, which is why we put a lot of value on customer service training.
I guess the thing to remember is, it's not just important to be liked by our customers, but our internal customers too - our colleagues and our managers. It's also important to remember as a manager - people work for people, not companies! Still, and consistently rated as the number one reason why people leave their jobs: 'my boss was a jerk!'
So can likeability be learned?
According to Tim Sanders, author of The Likeability Factor, your overall likeability is based on four key elements, in this order of importance:
- Friendliness By this, Sanders means, 'expressing a liking for another person' - basically we like people who we think like us. This is communicated verbally, using kind welcoming words etc and non-verbally - open body language, positive energy, eye contact and smiling.
- Relevance Relevance has to do with the degree to which you express interest in another person's interests and needs. When you show genuine interest in someone's passion, or their deeper needs, you create a bond. They know you are sincerely interested in them. You can show this by asking questions about things they are interested in or dealing with currently. Remembering personal details etc. If you don't know, this is a good way to show interest too - ask them!
- Empathy This is about showing understanding from their perspective. You identify with them, how they feel, the situation they're in, and their motives. In important ways, you know them, and they feel that you know. As well, when your sense of them is without judgment, they feel accepted just as they are.
- Realness This can also be described as genuineness, or authenticity. It's about 'what you see is what you get'. Being true to yourself and your word. People who are real are often at ease, because they aren't trying to cover anything up. This in turns put others at ease.
I guess it doesn't always come down to the extremes: likeable but incompetent or vice versa, sometimes you have two people with similar skills or competencies, then isn't it obvious who would be chosen? It's important to think about likeability and are you doing what you can to differentiate yourself in this positive way.
What do you think? Have you worked with any loveable fools, or competent jerks? If you had to choose, what would you do?
For more information on the Harvard Business Review Study go to http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/4916.html.


text:
Modern Fireplace Design
For a long time now, the fireplace has been a staple in most homes particularly those located colder regions. It isnt surprising because this structure serves a very good purpose of providing warmth to families in addition to the heating system already in place in their homes.
Many homeowners today prefer the modern fireplace design. These are the people who want to veer away from the traditional type and would rather create a different ambience in their homes. By modern, it means reflecting the present time and not the past.
With fireplace, modern designs are countless these days. Theyve gone beyond the conventional square firebox with an exterior framework and mantel surrounding the box and now utilize new materials. They have been transformed into different shapes and sizes unimaginable in the past.
But what matters is you know what you want and you take into consideration several important factors such as your budget and the available space in your home. Assessing your needs is the first step towards achieving your goals.
Most of the modern fireplaces today are the freestanding types. This means they can be moved from one place to another which is ideal for people who often change the positions of their furniture at home. Youll be amazed at the various stylish designs available nowadays with some in a spinning or rotating mode while there are others that are in the suitcase type you can just carry it to any room in the house or even outdoors where you want to stay warm. Other modern units are wall mounted and even come with a remote control for your utmost convenience or theyre built in within a center table.
Wooden logs are no longer the fuel used for these modern fireplace designs. Fuel gel, gas or electricity is what often provides the fire making them more environment and people friendly. This is because of the absence of smoke and ashes that can cause allergies to sensitive people. Thankfully, manufacturers have come up with unique and sleek designs that are more apt for homeowners with discerning preferences.
Materials for modern fireplaces are also no longer the traditional ones. Many are made from stainless steel, copper, aluminum and glass. While some have been created as mere open fire pits which you can just place on top of desks and center tables, there are some designs that even incorporate mirrors and bookcases to create a more profound effect. The latter types are more appropriate for spacious rooms while the open fire pit units are ideal for smaller rooms.
The trend today is towards multifunctional fireplaces. Theyre not only there to provide fire and warmth to people but they add beauty to a room as well as serve other important purpose.
If you're like me and find it easier to read a book in your hand rather than spending hours staring at a screen, you may wish to download this ebook. You can save the book to your computer, print it at your own convenience and read whenever and wherever you like. Download Your Copy of "How to Build a Better Fireplace"
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COPYRIGHT (C) 2005 -2011 Fireplace Design


text:
From A Wiki of Ice and Fire
|At Fair Isle
|The World of Ice and Fire (mentioned)
Tess was a woman of Fair Isle who murdered Lord Dalton Greyjoy.[1]
Following the end of the Dance of the Dragons, Dalton Greyjoy kept raiding the western coast of Westeros, based at Faircastle. Tess cut his throat open with his own dagger before jumping into the ocean.[1]
References and Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The World of Ice & Fire, The Iron Islands: The Red Kraken.


text:
Visiting Physicians Association (VPA) will be exhibiting at this years Texas Assisted Living Conference (TALA) held April 18th thru April 21st at the Embassy Suites Dallas -Frisco. The VPA team will be demoing our new Shared Care Portal at the conference. If you're attending, please stop by and see us at booth #313!...more
U.S. Medical Management Improves Health, Reduces Costs For Homebound Elderly in CMS Independence At Home Demonstration
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that in the first year of the three-year Independence at Home (IAH) Demonstration, U.S. Medical Management (USMM) and its affiliate Visiting Physicians Association (VPA) were able to achieve significant improvements in quality of patient care while reducing overall healthcare costs for...more
Visiting Physicians Association (Michigan) – Sponsors of INNO-VENTION 2014 Conference
Visiting Physicians Association is proud to collaborate with world-renowned hospitals, universities, healthcare and life science companies in Southeast Michigan at Oakland County's INNO-VENTION 2014: A Medical Main Street Conference on October 21-22, 2014. Together, we're creating a global center of innovation in medical research and development, education and commercialization. For more information,...more


text:
Am Mittwoch 09 April 2008 schrieb John Woods: > Hi Martin, Hi John, > I have the EN version so I can't run a check on my end but... > My ktorrent version is 2.2.5. > Once you stop the torrent you can use the Check Data Integrity right > click option... if it says anything less than 100% you start it > again... and it should fix it if it got broken somehow. If you can't > get it to validate with md5sum then I'd say it is probably ktorrent or > it's installation might be at fault. Then in that case I'd get the > latest version and try it out again. Thanks a bunch. Apparently the torrent was not downloaded correctly. KTorrent is currently downloading incorrect or missing parts. I thought I saw 100% completion tough and KTorrent moved the torrent to the upload tab already. Well it redownloaded some blocks, but after the sha1sum is still not correct and after checking data integrity again, it again reported broken blocks... So something does not seem to work with the torrent and at least that particular KTorrent version. I will try with another one. Ciao, -- Martin 'Helios' Steigerwald - http://www.Lichtvoll.de GPG: 03B0 0D6C 0040 0710 4AFA B82F 991B EAAC A599 84C7
Description: This is a digitally signed message part.


text:
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text:
Originally published Saturday, August 24, 2013 at 7:20 PM
Geography quiz: Lake Victoria is a source of what major river?
Test your geography smarts with this quiz:
Q: Lake Victoria (which divides part of Uganda and Kenya) is a source of what major river?
A: The Nile (called the Victoria Nile as it emerges from the lake)
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text:
Green Genie is certified by the Institute for
Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification
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exclusive Applied Structural Drying technique. If you
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text:
GraphicRiver A Cup of Coffee 5723084
Category: Stock Vector | Comment: ( 0 )
GraphicRiver A Cup of Coffee 5723084
Stock Vector \ Objects \ Food
Coffee \ Plate \ Gray \ Foam \ Tasty \ Light \ Refreshment \ Delicious \ Wake \ Relax
Stock Vector - A Cup of Coffee 5723084 by delwar018 @ GraphicRiver
Stock Vector \ Objects \ Food
Graphics Files Included: Vector EPS, AI Illustrator; Layered: Yes; Minimum Adobe CS Version: CS.
A cup of coffee on plate mostly comprised of vector, with a few raster.
Desktop FB Timeline V2; Desktop FB Timeline v1; Desktop FB timeline; Facebook Timeline Cover 08; Freshness Restaurant Manu.
Keywords: beverage, brew, brown, bubbles, clean, coffee, coffee cup, coffee on plate, cup of coffee, cuppa, dark, delicious, foam, gray, hot, light, plate, refreshment, relax, tasty, wake.
Download Link


text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|May 26, 1992
|Filing date
|Aug 23, 1990
|Priority date
|Aug 23, 1990
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Emmanuel Desurvire, Clinton R. Giles
|Original Assignee
|At&T Bell Laboratories
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (8), Non-Patent Citations (8), Referenced by (94), Classifications (18), Legal Events (4)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This invention relates generally to optical amplifiers and more particularly to a method of operating concatenated erbium-doped fiber optical amplifiers to provide an improved mode of operation.
Optical amplifiers may replace optoelectronic regenerators in some terrestrial and undersea long-haul transmission systems. The attraction is the potential of creating a "lightpipe" that is transparent to the bit rate and transmission format, and can convey wavelength-division multiplexed signals without the need for multiple repeaters. The difficulties associated with transmitting data long distances arise from chromatic dispersion, polarization dispersion, transmission fiber nonlinearities, optical amplifier nonlinearities and the accumulation of noise. Recent experiments have used semiconductor and erbium-doped fiber amplifiers as linear repeaters in lightwave transmission systems. The longest transmission distance reported was 2200 km. Less certain is the behavior of systems which have very long transmission distances, such as transoceanic systems operating over 7500 km.
The evolution of the signal and noise in concatenated optical amplifiers has been discussed in Quantum Electron, Vol. QE-18, No. 10 pp. 1560-1568 (1982) "S/N and Error Rate Performance in AlGaAs Semiconductor Laser Preamplifier and Linear Repeater Systems" by T. Mukai et al.; for linear optical amplifiers. However, in practice, amplifier saturation must be considered in view of the competition between the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) and the signal for the power available from the optical amplifiers. With multiple amplifiers, this problem becomes especially severe as the ASE, which is characterized as noise, builds up in successive amplifiers to quickly cause a noise power that is higher than that of a single amplifier. In a transmission system having concatenated optical amplifiers, gain saturation of the optical amplifiers at any stage is caused by the extraction of power from the amplifier by the ASE and amplification of the signal and of the ASE from previous stages. Three methods of operating transmission systems are classified as free-running, constant-total power, and constant-signal power. Differences in performance of the three systems arise from the propagation of signal power and the buildup of the ASE.
A method for reducing the accumulation of amplified spontaneous emission noise in a system of concatenated amplifiers is needed.
It is now disclosed that the buildup of ASE noise in a system of either lumped or distributed concatenated optical amplifiers can be limited by operating at least a plurality of the optical amplifiers to provide unsaturated gain which is greater than the loss of the system and where the various optical amplifiers are operated in their saturated state.
FIGS. 1 and 2 are curves of maximum gain (Gmax) and minimum noise (Fmin) of an Er3+ fiber amplifier with Al2 O3 --SiO2 core, l=9 at λso =1531 nm; a pump wavelength of 1450 nm<λp <1510 nm and a signal wavelength of 1500 nm<λs <1600 nm;
FIG. 3 is a schematic of a concatenated amplifier system wherein amplifier gain is Gi, saturation power is Psat, the total loss in a transmission span is L, and the optical filter bandwidth is Bo;
FIG. 4 is a plot of signal power (Ps) and amplified spontaneous emission power (Pase) of concatenated lumped optical amplifiers for copropagating (--) and counterpropagating (- - -) pump signals where pump power is 30 mW, Pso=9 mW, b-0.04 and L=0.001;
FIG. 5 is a plot of signal power (Ps) and amplified spontaneous emission power (Pase) in a bidirectionally-pumped distributed fiber amplifier where Pp + =Pp - =30 mW, Lamp =100 km, NEr 3+=8.3�1014 cm-3, Ps,0 =0.1 mW and b=0.04; the arrows identify the associated scale;
FIG. 6 is a plot of signal power (Ps) and amplified spontaneous emission power (Pase) in concatenated distributed fiber amplifiers of the type illustrated in FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 is a plot of total power (PTOT), signal power (Ps), gain (G) and amplified spontaneous emission power (Pase) of a free-running concatenation of lumped amplifiers where Go =35 dB, Psat =8 mW, LGo =3, Pso =1 mW, and Nsp =1.3; the arrows identify the associated scale;
FIG. 8 is a plot of total power (PTOT), signal power (Ps) and amplified spontaneous emission power (Pase) of concatenated lumped optical amplifiers with constant total output power where Go =35 db, Psat =8 mW, LG0 =3, Ps,0 =8.9 mW, and Nsp =1.3;
FIG. 9 is a plot of saturated power (Psat), signal power (Ps) and amplified spontaneous emission power (Pase) of concatenated lumped optical amplifiers with constant signal power where Go =35 dB, LGo =3, Ps,0 =5 mW and Nsp =1.3;
FIGS. 10 and 11 are plots of the evolution of ASE spectrum through a transmission system with 1 nm bandpass optical filters at each stage, FIG. 10 being of flat gain and ASE spectrum within the filter bandwidth and FIG. 11 being with amplifier gain and ASE decreased 5% within the 1 nm filter bandwidth.
This invention relates to an amplified lightwave system having concatenated optical amplifiers which, when operated in their saturated mode, provide a high signal-to-noise ratio. Current literature on amplified lightwave systems relate only to ideal, unsaturated optical amplifiers having gains which are unaffected by the amplified signal (noise) power. The current literature is not aware of the importance of, and ignores the reduction in amplifier gain caused by saturation, the competition between signal power and ASE noise power, and the efficiency of converting pump power into signal power. Because of this incomplete understanding of the operation of optical amplifiers, it is not obvious that the method of operating systems having saturated amplifiers, as we disclose, will work.
In this invention we disclose a method of operating an amplified lightwave system which has a relatively high signal to noise ratio. More specifically, in this invention, relatively high signal-to-noise ratio is obtained by operating the concatenated optical amplifiers of a transmission system in their saturated state. Conditions under which the amplified lightwave system operates satisfactorily for a large number of optical amplifiers (e.g. greater than 10) are determined and three methods of controlling the system are identified. Two methods of operation regulate the optical power, i.e. either the signal power or the total optical power (signal power plus ASE noise power). A third method of operation is unregulated, yields a low level of ASE noise system and is efficient in converting pump power into signal power. These lightwave systems may be comprised of either lumped or distributed optical amplifiers. Distributed optical amplifiers provide lower noise operation than lumped optical amplifiers to reduce the saturation cause by accumulated ASE noise and improve the signal-to-noise ratio. With this invention, it is now possible to have a lightwave system that can comprise a large number of amplifiers and still have a signal-to-noise ratio which is usable. For example, with an amplifier spacing of 100 km, an optical transmission system of 80 amplifiers can be used to span most transoceanic routes.
Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers have several advantages for transmission systems, including low insertion loss, polarization-independent gain, low crosstalk and high saturated output power. Very low noise figures have also been achieved with amplifiers having high small-signal gain, making them well-suited for concatenated amplifier systems that are sensitive to noise accumulation. Below, the static system performance is simulated using the rate-equations of the erbium-amplifier that self-consistently account for the saturated amplifier noise. A simple modification of the equations also permits modeling of distributed optical amplifiers, where the fiber of the entire transmission span is lightly doped with erbium and is pumped to compensate for the transmission losses. Improved noise performance is disclosed for this type of amplifier. Then, a model of the saturated amplifier is used to simulate several possible operating conditions for concatenated optical amplifiers. Thereafter, the bit-error-rate performance of these systems and the effects of optical filtering are observed.
The erbium-doped fiber amplifier is modeled as a three-level system having population densities in the ground level (1), metastable level (2) and pump level (3). The rate equations describing the effects of the pump (Pp), signal (Ps) and ASE (Pa) power on these populations are: ##EQU1## and by conservation, N3 =Nt -N1 -N2, where N1, N2 and N3 are the populations densities of the ground level, metastable level and pump level respectively and Nt is the total Er3+ density. The superscript + designates pump and ASE copropagating with the signal, and - when they counterpropagate to the signal. The absorption (a) and emission (e) cross-sections of the pump (p) and signal (s) are σs,p;a,e,e2. With pumping into the metastable level with (λp =1450-1500 nm), the amplifier behaves as a two level system with the pump emission cross-section σpe2 =σpe ; pumping into other absorption bands (e.g. λp =980 mn) have σpe2 =0. Other parameters are the fiber core area, A, the signal-to-core overlap, Γs, and the pump-to-core overlap, Γp. No other effects of the radial distribution of ions or the optical mode are included here, since it is assume that the erbium ions are confined to the region of the optical mode's peak intensity and Γs,p are small. The nonradiative transition rate from level 3 to 2 is A32 and the radiative transition rate from level 2 to 1 is A21. In calculating the behavior of concatenated fiber amplifiers, the parameters for erbium in alumino-silicate glass, pumped at λp =1480 nm, and amplifying a signal at λs =1545 nm were used. Table 1 summarizes the material parameters and typical fiber parameters applicable to fiber amplifiers.
TABLE 1______________________________________Fiber-Amplifier Parameters Used in Calculations______________________________________λ.sub.p = 1480 nm Δν = 3100 GHz (25 nm)λ.sub.s = 1545 nm A.sub.21 = 100 s.sup.-1σ.sub.pe = σ.sub.pe2 = 0.42 � 10.sup.-21 A.sub.32 = 10.sup.9 s.sup.-1σ.sub.pa = 1.86 � 10.sup.-21 cm.sup.2 A = 12.6 � 10.sup.-8 cm.sup.2σ.sub.se = 5.03 � 10.sup.-21 cm.sup.2 Γ.sub.s = Γ.sub.p = 0.4σ.sub.sa = 2.85 � 10.sup.-21 cm.sup.2______________________________________
The convective equations describing the spatial development of the pump, signal and ASE in the fiber are: ##EQU2## The second term in (5) is ASE power produced in the amplifier per unit length within the amplifier homogeneous bandwidth Δν for both polarization states. The loss terms, αs,p represent internal loss of the amplifier, which is relevant in the case of the distributed optical amplifier whose length is equal to the span length and αs,p are the usual signal and pump attenuation in the transmission fiber.
Equations (1)-(5) are solved for steady-state conditions where dNi /dt=0, to yield the output ASE power and the amplified signal with amplifier saturation. The amplifier gain is calculated as G=Ps (1)/Ps (0) and the spontaneous emission noise factors in the forward and backward directions are defined as nsp + =Pa + (1)/(2hνs Δν(G-1)) and nsp - =Pa - (0)/(2hνs Δν(G-1)). The evolution of the signal and noise in the transmission system is computed numerically. However, simplifications to these equations yield convenient expressions for the achievable gain and amplifier noise figure, F=2nsp. In the case of pumping into the metastable level (σpe2 =σpe), and in the limits where Ps =0, and (Pp + +Pp -)>>Pth =hνp AA21 /σpa Γp, it is derived from equations (1) and (2) that ##EQU3## where the dependence Gmax and Fmin on λp and λs appear explicitly in the cross-section ratios, rp =σpa /σpe and r=σsa /σse. In measurements of the wavelength dependence of amplifier gain, the physical length of the amplifier, Lamp, is constant and l=Lamp Γs σse (λs)NT varies with signal wavelength. Consequently, it is desirable to refer l to the value at some reference signal wavelength, i.e., lso =l(λso), and Gmax is then: ##EQU4## Equations (7) and (8) are useful in that they give the minimum noise figure and the maximum gain of an erbium-doped optical amplifier having cross-section ratios calculated from the absorption and fluorescence spectra of the amplifier. These values of Gmax and Fmin are the upper and lower bounds to those values computed numerically for an amplifier with the same l, λp and λs, but operating where the signal and ASE are present and the amplifier does not have maximum inversion. FIGS. 1 and 2 show the calculated Gmax and Fmin for an alumino-silicate glass host with λp ranging from 1450 nm to 1510 nm, and lso =9 for λs0 =1531 nm. See IEEE J. Lightwave Tech. Vol. 7, No. 5, pp. 835-845 (1989), "Amplification of Spontaneous Emission in Erbium-doped Single-mode Fibers" by E. Desurvire et al. Pumping at short wavelengths enables high amplifier inversion resulting in high gain and a low noise figure. Quantum-limited signal amplification, i.e., F=3 dB, is practically achieved by pumping at λp =1450 nm. In a recent experiment, a noise figure F=4.1 dB was reported with 1493 nm pumping which agrees closely to Fmin =4.3 dB predicted for the alumino-silicate glass host.
In a transmission system, the optical amplifiers are concatenated with the transmission fiber, and optical filters are inserted to reject the ASE outside of the signal band. FIGS. 1 and 2 are curves of maximum gain and minimum noise of an erbium-doped fiber amplifier with an Al2 O3 --SiO2 core. The system, shown in FIG. 3, is generalized to include the variation in the gain and output signal power of each stage caused by the build-up of the ASE power, Pase,itot. In the case of the fiber-amplifier, which will be discussed first, the amplifiers are assumed to be the same, and the spontaneous emission noise factor, nsp, is obtained from equations (1)-(5). The loss of each span, L, and the normalized filter bandwidth b=B0 /Δν, are kept constant. The optical filter bandwidth, Bo =1 nm (126 GHz) is a compromise between minimizing the ASE power outside the signal bandwidth, and ensuring that the bandwidth of the cascaded amplifiers remains large enough for Gb/s signals. A rectangular shaped ASE optical spectrum after the optical filter is assumed in the noise calculation. Later, the effects of non-ideal filtering on the ASE spectrum and system gain will be discussed.
In a system of concatenated lumped fiber amplifiers, gain saturation of the optical amplifiers at any stage is caused by the extraction of power from the amplifier by the ASE, and amplification of the signal and of the ASE from previous stages. At the ith amplifier then the total output powers of the ASE and signal are:
P.sub.ase,i.sup.tot =LG.sub.i P.sub.ase,i-1.sup.tot +bP.sub.a,i.sup.+ (G.sub.i,n.sub.sp,i) (9)
P.sub.s,i =LG.sub.i P.sub.s,i-1 (10)
with Pase,0tot =0; Ps,0 is the transmitter output power. Optical isolators at each amplifier prevent the backward propagation of ASE through the system. The transmitter power, Ps,0 could be produced with a power optical amplifier placed in front of the transmitter, but it is assumed that the amplifier is strongly saturated and Pa,0+ is negligible. Also, Ps,0 could be the total power of a WDM signal if the wavelength spacing is not too large to cause significant differences in the net gain of each channel.
The behavior of the fiber-amplifier, and consequently the concatenated amplifiers, depends on L, λp, λs, and on the power and direction of the pump. For example, the noise factor of amplifiers having co-propagating pump (Pp + >0, Pp - =0) is typically lower than those having counterpropagating pumps (Pp + =0, Pp - >0) because of higher population inversion at the input. Also, the amplifier saturation power increases with pump power, even though the highest gain is Gmax once the maximum inversion is achieved.
FIG. 4 shows the output signal power and the total output ASE power of a concatenated amplifier system for both copropagating and counterpropagating pump and for typical amplifier conditions, L=30 dB span attenuation and a normalized bandwidth of b=0.04. The span attenuation was chosen as representing 25 dB loss in 100 km of fiber and a 5 dB margin for amplifier insertion loss. The bandwidth corresponds to a 1 nm filter for an amplifier homogeneous linewidth of 25 nm. With a transmitter signal power, Pso =9 mW, the saturated gain of every optical amplifier is 30 dB, which is 5 dB lower than Go =35 dB. The long transient response time of gain saturation in erbium-doped fiber-amplifiers enables them to operate saturated in Gb/s systems without causing patterning or crosstalk penalties. See Opt. Lett., Vol. 14, No. 16, pp. 880-882 (1989) "Transient Gain and Crosstalk in Erbium-doped Fiber Amplifiers" by C. R. Giles, et al. Additionally, in these highly saturated amplifiers good conversion efficiency of the pump power into signal power is achieved; of the 30 mW pump in this example, 30% is converted to amplified signal.
In the transmission system, the ASE grows nearly linearly, causing the output signal power of successive amplifiers to decrease. After 10,000 km, with copropagating-pump amplifiers, the signal is reduced to 5.7 mW, and the ASE power is 3.25 mW in a 1 nm bandwidth. With the counterpropagating pump, the amplifier noise figure is slightly higher, resulting in Pase tot =3.65 mW at the output of the final amplifier. At the high powers in these optically amplified systems, Brillouin scattering and self-phase modulation in the transmission fiber could cause further signal degradation. Constant amplitude signal transmission (frequency-shift keying or phase-shift keying), or soliton transmission, may suppress degradation caused by these fiber nonlinearities, but the degradation caused by the growth of ASE and the loss of signal power is unchanged. One means of reducing the accumulated ASE is to decrease the amplifier spacing while maintaining the total amplifier gain in the system, Gsystem, equal to the fiber and component losses. Then the ASE optical power at the receiver is proportional to N(Gsystem 1/N -1), where N is the number of amplifiers in the system, each having gain Gsystem 1/N. The noise performance improves for large N and in the limit of distributed amplification where the transmission fiber is also the gain medium, the ASE power is proportional to ln(Gsystem).
We refer now to a system having concatenated distributed fiber amplifiers. Distributed amplifiers are known to have the potential of attaining very low noise figures because the signal level is kept relatively high throughout the amplifier. For the erbium amplifier, where the characteristic length is 1/Γs σse Nt, the dopant density can be reduced to yield very long amplifiers that are themselves the transmission fiber. The amplifier length can also be increased by confining the erbium to a small core diameter to reduce the overlap between the signal and the doped region. Loss in the fiber from Rayleigh scattering, OH absorption, impurities, and the like, limit the maximum length that can be used in a distributed amplifier, and is incorporated in the model with the loss terms αs and αp in equations 3-5. FIG. 5 illustrates a 100-km long distributed amplifier, with a normal attenuation loss of 0.25 dB/km (αs =αp =5.76�10-5 m-1) and bidirectionally pumped with Pp + =Pp - =30 mW. To achieve unity gain, the fiber is doped with Nt =8.3�1014 cm-3, which is approximately a thousand times less than in a conventional lumped amplifier. The input signal power is 100 μW but is not constant in the distributed amplifier, rather it grows at the two ends where the pump power is large and is attenuated in the middle portion of the amplifier. If required by other constraints of the system, the fluctuation in the signal level can be reduced by decreasing the erbium concentration and increasing the pump power to achieve constant inversion in the amplifier. At these higher pump powers (Pp >50 mW), Raman gain is significant, and is easily incorporated into equations 3-5 by adding terms having pump-power-dependent gain coefficients.
FIG. 6 illustrates the propagation of the ASE and signal through a series of concatenated distributed amplifiers where the output signal power from each span is kept constant at Ps,0 =0.1 mW and there is no coupling loss between amplifiers. The distributed amplifier used in this example is the bidirectionally pumped amplifier of FIG. 5 with the span length of 100 km. The principal advantage of the distributed amplifier, low ASE, is clearly observed by comparing FIG. 5 with the lumped amplifier results of FIG. 3, where the ASE power is two orders of magnitude higher. One disadvantage of the distributed amplifier is that the pump power requirements are approximately doubled because both the relatively high-power pump and the signal experience loss in the transmission fiber. Also, since the signal power is relatively high throughout the system, nonlinearity of the transmission fiber may be more important in this embodiment rather than in the embodiment using lumped amplifiers. This could be advantageous for soliton transmission which relies upon self-phase modulation to sustain the soliton, however, it could cause pulse broadening for conventional optical pulse transmission.
In accordance with the principles of the invention, concatenated lumped amplifiers configured to operate in their saturation mode can be configured in several ways to provide a desired system performance. Beginning with the assumptions of local homogeneous saturation of the gain coefficient g, i.e., g=(1/(1+P/Psat)), and uniform pumping of the amplifier, an implicit form of the amplifier gain is:
G=G.sub.o exp[(1-G)P.sub.in /P.sub.sat ] (11)
where Go is the unsaturated gain and Pin is the total power at the input to the erbium-doped fiber. See A. E. Siegman, "Lasers", University Service Books (Mill Valley, Calif.) 1986. With this definition of Psat, Pout =0.69 Psat when G=Go /2, Go >>1. Self-saturation from the ASE produced within an amplifier is not included, but the ASE is propagated through the concatenated spans and causes saturation of following amplifiers. The total power and the signal power at the output of the doped fiber of the ith amplifier is then:
P.sub.out,i =LG.sub.i P.sub.out,i-1 +2n.sub.sp (G.sub.i -1)hν.sub.s B.sub.o (12)
P.sub.s,i =LG.sub.i P.sub.s,i-1 i=1,n
where Pout,0 =Ps,0. The filter bandwidth at each stage is Bo. The spontaneous emission noise factor of each amplifier is assumed to be constant, which is a reasonable approximation to the results obtained from the simulations with the complete fiber amplifier model. The unsaturated gain and saturation powers are determined from the fiber design and pump powers. Typically, the fiber amplifier is operated where the small-signal gain varies slowly with pump power, and the saturation power can be regulated by changing the pump power. Consequently, in the examples that follow, Go,i =Go (a constant), and Psat,i is a parameter that can be adjusted in order to obtain system goals. The roles of saturation power and unsaturated gain are easily reversed, i.e., modeling Psat =constant and variable Go,i, which more closely resembles the behavior of semiconductor optical amplifiers when regulating the injection current.
Three embodiments of concatenated fiber-amplifier systems are considered here. The first embodiment is the "free-running" system described previously where there is no regulation of total output power or output signal power. FIG. 7 illustrates a plot of Gi, Pase,i, Ps,i and Pout,i for 100 concatenated free-running amplifiers having G0 =35 dB, Psat =8 mW and LGo =3. It is to be noted that if LGo =1, as would be the case if saturation effects were ignored, amplifier saturation would cause the signal to rapidly decay by the factor ##EQU5## To illustrate the free-running behavior of the system, the transmitter power is only 1 mW. After the first amplifier, the signal power is larger than Ps,0, but as the gain saturates and ASE builds up, the signal declines by the eighth amplifier.
The second embodiment is to keep the total output power constant through the system, i.e., Pout,i =Ps,0. Substituting this into equation 12, the gain of each stage is ##EQU6## and in the limit of 2nsp hνBo LL Ps,o, G=1/L and ##EQU7## FIG. 8 is a plot of the signal and ASE evolving through 100 amplifiers for a transmitter power Ps,o =8.9 mW. This condition is a special case of the free-running amplifiers where Ps,o has been selected so that the saturated gain is nearly equal to the span loss, beginning with the first amplifier. The difference here is that Psat,i may be regulated to maintain Pout,i =Ps,0 in the event that conditions of the system change. However, the signal power still diminishes with distance because the addition of ASE from each amplifier prevents the gain from exactly compensating for the loss. After 100 amplifiers, the signal-to-noise is significantly better than the Ps,o =1 mW free-running case, at the expense of higher Ps,o which may be achieved using a power amplifier at the transmitter.
A final embodiment of system supervision can have constant signal power at the output of each amplifier. Although this is not the most efficient mode of operating the system to convert the maximum amount of pump power to signal, it still is likely the preferred method of operation. Now Ps,i =Ps,0, consequently LGi =1 and
P.sub.out,i =P.sub.s,o +i2n.sub.s (G-1)hν.sub.s B.sub.oa(15)
Rewriting equation 11 to obtain an expression for Psat,i, and substituting Pin,i =Pout,i /G, there is obtained ##EQU8## The saturation power of each successive amplifier is increased slightly to compensate for the gain saturation caused by the build-up of the ASE. FIG. 9 illustrates a case where Pout,i, Pase,i and Psat,i are all increasing down the chain of amplifiers. Here, Psat,1 =4.6 mW and at the final amplifier stage Psat,100 =7.8 mW. The noise performance is similar to the free-running system when a smaller transmitter power is used but the average saturation power of the amplifiers is higher. Upon comparing the three methods of operation, it appears that issues of system operation, supervision and maintenance, rather than noise, will dictate which method would be preferred for a system. For example, constant signal power monitoring avoids blind operation of a system and enables adequate supervision of the signal's progress at each amplifier stage. Constant power monitoring, however, may reduce the hardware complexity as the signal does not have to be independently sensed.
Once signal and noise have propagated through all the amplifiers, detection at the receiver converts the light into an electrical signal, which for digital data transmission, is a string of "0"s and "1"s corrupted by electrical noise. The electrical noise is the sum of that produced by the receiver electronics, shot noise from the signal and ASE, signal-spontaneous (s-sp) beat noise and spontaneous-spontaneous (sp-sp) beat noise. In quantum-limited detection, the dominant noise is the s-sp beat noise, and where the optical filter bandwidth is considerably larger than the signal bandwidth, significant sp-sp beat noise is present too.
The beat noise degradation can be estimated from the received signal and ASE optical powers. For this purpose, (See IEEE J. Quantum Electron, Vol. QE-16, No. 10, pp. 1073-1081 (1980), "Noise and Error Rate Performance of Semiconductor Laser Amplifiers in PCM-IM Optical Transmission Systems" by Y. Yamamoto; and SPIE Conf. on Fiber Lasers and Amplifiers, Boston, Mass. Paper 1171-32 (1989) "Erbium-doped Fiber Amplifiers for High Speed Fiber-Optic Communication Systems" by C. R. Giles, et al.), it is necessary to know the electrical noise power produced by the beat terms expressed in terms of the signal and ASE photocurrents.
I.sub.s-sp.sup.2 =2I.sub.ase I.sub.1 B.sub.e /B.sub.o (17)
I.sub.sp-sp.sup.2 =I.sub.ase.sup.2 B.sub.e /B.sub.o (18)
Here Be is the electrical bandwidth of the receiver and the photocurrents are
I.sub.ase =eηP.sub.ase λ.sub.s /hc (19)
I.sub.1 =2eηP.sub.s λ.sub.s /hc (20)
and η is the detection quantum efficiency. The electrical bandwidth is approximately one-half the data rate and the optical signal power in the 0's is assumed to be zero. Referring to Bell Sys. Tech. Jour., Vol. 52, No. 1, pp. 117-133 (1973) "Applications of Quantum Amplifiers in Simple Digital Optical Communication Systems" by S. D. Personick, the Q parameter at the receiver, which is related to the achievable bit-error rate (BER) at the receiver is given by: ##EQU9## where Inoise "1"2 and Inoise "0"2 on the total noise powers in a "1" and "0", respectively. For the gaussian noise approximation, Q=7.65 when the BER=1�10-14. From equations 17 and 18, and assuming that other noise effects are small, Q can be expressed in terms of RB =Bo /Be and Rase =Pase /Ps : ##EQU10## Most often RB is specified and Rase is calculated to determine the maximum ASE power that can be tolerated to achieve the desired BER. For example, with 1 nm wide optical filters (Bo =126 GHz at 1545 nm) and Be =1.25 GHz (2.5 Gb/s data rate), then for Q=7.65, Rase =0.74; the ASE power is approximately 75% of the signal power to achieve a BER floor of 1�10-14. Slight improvement in the system sensitivity can be achieved by using a narrower bandwidth optical filter at the receiver to reduce the sp-sp beat noise.
All of the previous examples satisfied the criterion of the BER floor<10-14 for a transmission distance of 10,000 km. This performance amply exceeds typical transoceanic requirements of 7500 km, although a large margin may be required as additional impairments may occur, including higher amplifier noise figure, device aging and higher fiber loss. The distributed amplifier example had the best noise performance with Rase =0.449 at 10,000 km even though the input and output signal power of each stage was only 100 μW. The values of Rase for the previous examples of free-running, regulated Pout, and regulated Ps were 0.74, 0.60 and 0.71 respectively; the low value for constant Pout resulted from having a slightly higher transmission power. In soliton transmission systems where the average signal power is several milliwatts, even better signal-to-noise ratios would be achievable in distributed amplifiers. In lumped amplifier systems, the example of constant total power operation gave only slightly better performance than the free-running and constant signal power systems.
The ASE power calculations of the earlier sections were made on the premise that each amplifier had an ideal rectangular bandpass filter and that the amplifier gain spectrum was flat. In practice the filter is not ideal and the gain spectrum in the filter passband is not flat. Thus, the approximate ASE spectral shape at the end of the concatenated amplifiers is determined. First, the ASE spectrum and the gain is assumed to vary linearly within the filter passband, i.e., Pase, Gi ∝1+a(λ-λc) where a is a measure of the ASE flatness and λc is the filter center wavelength. Also, identical filters are used at each amplifier, although this would not be true in practice and some averaging of the filter function would occur. In the filter model, a three-stage, double half-wave interference filter is used whose transmission function is f(λ)=1/[1+((λ-λc)/B1)6 ] where B1 is the single filter 3-dB bandwidth. This is a standard filter type that can be made with low insertion loss and is a close approximation to the desired rectangular filter. The equivalent optical filter of the concatenated system after N stages has a shape f(λ)N, causing the system bandwidth to shrink as compared to a single filter. With this filter function, the 3-dB bandwidth after N stages is reduced by (ln2/N)1/6 for large N; in the case of N=100, the system bandwidth is 43.7% less than that of a single filter. Normally, the system optical bandwidth is specified and in the examples of this paper then the single filter bandwidth B1 =2.29Bo =2.29 nm.
Once the filter characteristics are known, the ASE power after N stages is calculated as: ##EQU11## In the limiting case of special interest, where the signal power at each amplifier stage is constant, the problem is simplified as LGi (λ)=1. Additionally, if it is assumed that a=0 then the spectrum of the ASE after N stages, S(λ), is simply: ##EQU12## FIG. 10 shows the ASE spectrum for 1 to 100 amplifier stages. The ASE spectrum evolves to be very similar in shape to the system transfer function because most of the ASE originates from stages with N>>1, where the system transfer function is only slowly varying. After 30 stages, the ASE spectrum is one-half the width of the spectrum from a single amplifier+filter. Correcting for this in the noise calculations of equations (1)-(5) could be approximated by having Bo being the accumulated ASE bandwidth, not the bandwidth of a single filter.
Finally, if the amplifier gain spectrum is not flat through the filter passband, additional distortion of the accumulated gain and ASE spectrum results. FIG. 11 shows the accumulated ASE spectrum where a=-0.05, i.e., each amplifier gain decreases by 5% over the filter bandwidth (1 nm). This causes the ASE spectrum to evolve to shorter wavelengths, and become considerably narrower and less flat-topped. After 100 amplifiers, the 3 dB bandwidth of the system is 0.156 of the single-filter bandwidth. The effect of the distortion would be minimized by centering the signal at the peak of the ASE spectrum. Also, this distortion may be corrected by distorting the filter shape slightly to compensate the gain spectrum and improve the net gain flatness over the filter passband.
The propagation of signal and noise is concatenated optical amplifiers is dependent on properties of the amplifier and on the system design. The erbium-doped fiber amplifier is a good candidate for long-distance transmission because of its very low noise and high gain. A rate equation model of the fiber amplifier was used in the simulation of a transmission system. In a 1.5-μm transmission system, system reach beyond 10,000 km for 2.5 Gb/s (Sonet rate) seems possible, discounting the effects of dispersion and transmission fiber nonlinearities. Additional distance can be gained by increasing the launched signal power, by using low-loss transmission fiber, by minimizing the amplifier insertion loss, and/or by reducing the optical filter bandwidth.
Distributed fiber-amplifiers may achieve extremely low-noise operation, at some expense in requiring high pump power and potentially shorter span lengths. In this respect, the erbium-doped distributed amplifier is similar to Raman amplification in transmission fibers.
Three obvious methods of regulating the transmission system are possible and a simple model of optical amplifier saturation was used to simulate system performance. No significant difference is expected in the noise performances of free-running systems, constant-total-power systems, and constant-signal-power systems. Supervisory requirements may favor constant-signal systems as this directly monitors the information transmission, and facilitates extraction of supervisory data in the signal. An advantage of the free-running system is that it always equilibrates to convert the maximum amount of pump power into signal power, achieving the best possible signal-to-noise ratio from an amplifier chain.
Standard optical filter designs appear to be compatible with typical system requirements. Roughly a factor of 2 reduction in system bandwidth compared to the single filter bandwidth should be possible after 100 amplifier stages. Furthermore, some correction to structure in the amplifier gain spectrum may be done by appropriating tailoring the optical filter transmission characteristics.
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|Oct 1, 2002
|Corning Incorporated
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|Jun 22, 1999
|Jan 14, 2003
|Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
|Device and method for ascertaining noise power
|Jul 27, 2001
|May 6, 2003
|Ciena Corporation
|Method and system for determining channel power in an optical communications network
|Jul 27, 2001
|Jul 29, 2003
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|Method and system for controlling amplifier power in an optical communications network having add/drop capability
|Jul 27, 2001
|Sep 2, 2003
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|Method and system for controlling amplifier power in an optical communications network
|Oct 25, 2002
|Jun 28, 2005
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|Jul 25, 2006
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|Method and system for controlling amplifier power in an optical communications network having add/drop capability
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|Vehicular communication system
|Feb 1, 2002
|Jul 10, 2007
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|Method and system for coordinating and utilizing channel power information in an optical communications network
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|Oct 16, 2007
|Lockheed Martin Corporation
|Network system health monitoring using cantor set signals
|Nov 26, 2002
|Mar 25, 2008
|Lockheed Martin Corporation
|Methods and systems for creating a digital interconnect fabric
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|Sep 26, 2005
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|Wavelength division multiplexing passive optical network for providing both of broadcasting service and communication service and central office used thereof
|Mar 7, 2011
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|Low-cost WDM source with an incoherent light injected Fabry-Perot laser diode
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|Method, apparatus, and system for evaluating faulty point in multi-stage optical amplifying and repeating transmission line
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|U.S. Classification
|359/341.1, 359/337.1, 359/337, 359/337.2, 398/160, 359/343
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Aug 23, 1990
Owner name: AMERICAN TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY, A CORP.
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNORS:DESURVIRE, EMMANUEL;GILES, CLINTON R.;REEL/FRAME:005434/0502
Effective date: 19900822
|Sep 27, 1995
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|Oct 28, 1999
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 8
|Oct 27, 2003
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 12


text:
I received a sample for this review/feature. Opinions expressed are my own. The holidays are here and when you send a beautifully professionally-arranged and hand-delivered floral gift from Teleflora this holiday, your family and friends will be reminded of you every time they glance at its radiant and festive blooms. Teleflora's You, Delivered holiday campaign will capture … [Read more...]
Teleflora's Halloween Bouquet is Perfect for Halloween
AI received a sample for this review/feature. Opinions expressed are my own. A Halloween bouquet by Teleflora is the perfect decor for a spooky treat table or as a gift for your Halloween party hostess. I love having a boo-tiful center piece on my tables, and I prefer for my center pieces to be short so that all the appetizers are able to be seen on the table. This Halloween Bouquet is … [Read more...]
June Blooms – Flower Friday
This month has been busy and I unfortunately just haven't had the time to upkeep my gardens like I used to. But luckily for me, nature takes its own course and my flowers haven't suffered too badly! This pretty flower below is from a plant that was sent for my mother in law's funeral. The blooms all fell off a couple of weeks ago, but it started blooming again just the other day. It's so gorgeous … [Read more...]
NEW Ford Pickup Bouquet From Teleflora for Father's Day
I received a sample for this review/feature. Opinions expressed are my own. Check out this all NEW Ford Pickup Bouquet for Father's Day from teleflora this year. Guys can most certainly enjoy flowers as much as the women! My dad especially loves nature so a bouquet of beautiful flowers is something he would definitely appreciate. Flowers are especially great for family members that live far away. … [Read more...]
Flower Friday – Spring Flowers after the Rain
I've done some complaining about the weather lately, but one good things that comes after the rain are beautiful blooms. My spring flowers have really started to bloom this week and they're absolutely gorgeous! My gardens are full of beautiful flowers in an array of colors. I've got purple, pink and peach Hyacinth that are just lovely right now while they're in full bloom. I'm actually inspired to … [Read more...]
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text:
(Warning: The following contains mild SPOILERS for previously released Marvel Studios movies and Marvel-themed Netflix shows. Proceed with whatever level of caution that suggests to you is wise...)
Now, with Marvel and Netflix's Luke Cage set to hit our screens in just a few months time, and debut series for both The Punisher and the ever-controversial Iron Fist very much on the way, Netflix's Marvel-themed output is hardly lacking in new entrants. That being said, though, there may not actually be all that many options lying behind the current crop of debutants - making Netflix's plans for 2019 or so a little more difficult to gauge.
With that in mind, then, it seemed about time to take a look at...
Five Marvel Movie Stars Who Could Be Heading To Netflix In The Near Future
After all, nothing says 'profitable connectivity' quite like dropping down a hero or two that can't quite support their own solo series to the 'minor leagues' of Netflix. Not everyone is destined for Major League MCU glory, after all...
First up, then?
5. Cobie Smulders, a.k.a. Maria Hill
Now, with Cobie Smulders having already had a whole lot of success on the small screen with How I Met Your Mother, there's no guarantee that she'd be interested in stepping back from her burgeoning movie career just yet - but if she were, then a Maria Hill series could be seriously interesting. After all, the comic-book Hill is far more of an anti-heroic (and often borderline villainous) figure than in the MCU, making a show centered on her adventures a distinctly intriguing prospect. A behind the scenes look at the moral compromises of the MCU's intelligence services, perhaps - or at the fallout from the Sokovia Accords?
The Pitch: The West Wing meets The Wire... with more explosions.
4. Don Cheadle, a.k.a. War Machine
With Cheadle's long-running Showtime series House of Lies having recently been announced to be ending, it's actually entirely possible that the acclaimed actor would be interested in another steady gig to replace it. What's more, with James 'War Machine' Rhodes having recently been paralyzed in Captain America: Civil War, the groundwork for a Rocky-like superhero comeback story/mystery adventure has already very much been laid.
The Pitch: Person of Interest meets Murderball... with more explosions.
3. Hayley Atwell, a.k.a. Peggy Carter
Now, while Peggy Carter's televised adventures may have apparently come to an end with Agent Carter season two, that doesn't mean we're necessarily through with Ms. Carter just yet. After all, Atwell has long argued in favor of a continuation of the fan-favorite character's story - making a Netflix mini-series all the more promising a prospect. A tale of Peggy's actual founding of S.H.I.E.L.D. perhaps?
The Pitch: Mad Men meets The X-Files... with more explosions.
2. Anthony Mackie, a.k.a. The Falcon
Another actor who would perhaps be reluctant to trade in a movie career for the more steady life of a Netflix actor, Anthony Mackie could perhaps be lured to the streaming service by the promise of a genuinely meaty role. After all, the acclaimed theater actor's role in the MCU looks likely to be limited to a supporting one for the foreseeable future. A Falcon mini-series, though - perhaps featuring Mackie's Sam Wilson revisiting his military past, and the moral complexities of the war on terror - could give him the starring role his acting chops deserve. Hopefully with enough jokes to showcase his comedic talents, too.
The Pitch: Zero Dark Thirty meets M*A*S*H... with more explosions.
1. Jeremy Renner, a.k.a. Hawkeye
Now, I've argued elsewhere that Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye would perhaps be best served exchanging the big screen MCU for a Netflix series of his very own, and... well, I stand by that argument. With the comic-book Hawkeye's vaguely misanthropic snarkiness (and general inability to function as a grown adult) having largely been ignored by the MCU up till now, there's surely an opening for a solo series that could redress the balance. Could Hawkeye's new life on the run - following the events of Captain America: Civil War - cause a few marriage problems, perhaps... and lead to him meeting a certain fan-beloved teenaged protegee?
The Pitch: It's the legendary comic-book Hawkeye by Matt Fraction and David Aja, only on Netflix. With the same number of explosions.
The big question now, though?


text:
Lenny's life story a worthy winner of sports award
I was thoroughly engrossed in 'Dub Sub Confidential - A Goalkeeper's Life with - and without - the Dubs' in the middle of last week when I briefly came up for air.
And as I checked what was happening in the real world via Twitter, I learned that the little gem I was finding so hard to put down had been selected as the Setanta sports book of the year.
'Proper order' I thought to myself before settling down to read the next chapter, and I didn't finish until the last page was turned.
I've read the vast majority of books about the lives of G.A.A. players, and so many of them are utterly underwhelming. Indeed, I've often finished such an offering and wondered, 'why in the name of God did he think his life story was worth a 200-plus page book?'.
'Dub Sub Confidential' is unlike anything I have read before from the G.A.A. world, and in that regard it has completely broken the mould.
The author - and yes, he wrote it himself without the need for a ghost writer - is John Leonard, and to state he has lived an eventful life so far is putting it mildly.
His name will be unfamiliar to most readers, unless you're a complete G.A.A. anorak or a true blue Dubs fan who doesn't miss a game from the start of the O'Byrne Cup until the end of the championship campaign.
He was substitute goalkeeper to Stephen Cluxton for the 2006 and 2007 Leinster championship successes under Paul 'Pillar' Caffrey, and went down the pecking order to third choice for 2008 before being deemed surplus to requirements when Pat Gilroy took over as manager for 2009.
He barely got a look-in due to Cluxton's class and, while he has huge admiration for the number one on and off the field, he makes no bones about it: he hoped and prayed the king of the netminders would either get suspended or injured to give him a chance.
Neither of these possibilities saw the light of day even though Leonard put in a serious shift in training and was itching for a chance. He likens it to spending a long time wining and dining the woman of your dreams but never getting the chance to take her home.
However, the story of Leonard's period with the Dubs is only one, albeit significant, part of a book that pushes the boundaries of sports writing in this country.
The author was a victim of paedophile priest Fr. Ivan Payne when he served as an altar boy, and this harrowing experience explains a great deal of what followed in his life.
Drink and drugs were his emotional crutches and he indulged in both to extremes, while a string of casual sexual encounters are also outlined as we read of his many escapades down through the years in Australia, Greece and India.
At the back of it all, Leonard's love for his parents, brother and three younger sisters shines through. He was particularly devoted to his father, an MS sufferer who was confined to a wheelchair but still managed to be a fixture on the sideline during his son's formative years.
Sadly he died shortly before Leonard made the Dublin Senior panel, an achievement that would have made him immensely proud.
I won't spoil this review by divulging any more; but if you plan to read just one sports book this Christmas, make sure this is it.
Visit The Book Centre on Wexford's Main Street for the very best selection of sports books.
Wexford People


text: Since its 1994 debut, SBC's annual production of Rockballet continues to be daringly different. The brainchild of SBC Artistic Director, Julie Ratz, Rockballet is a vivid and exciting mix of adventurous choreography, memorable music and high-intensity dancing. A multimedia celebration of dance and rock music, Rockballet has had a stunning impact on the way central Illinois views classical dance.


text:
Real estate property comprises of vacant land or built up area within land. Both of these appreciate at different rates. Its important to know these rates to assist in which area between vacant land vs built up land to zero in on your real estate investment.
Vacant land appreciation rate is different from built up area appreciation rate.
Upper Hill area comparison.
Lets check the appreciation rate for Vacant land in Upper Hill area of Nairobi for the last 5 years.
1 acre in upper hill area costed kes 200 million 5 years ago. It now costs kes 600million for the same. This is a 40% per annum increase in appreciation rate.
Built up area rate.
For built up area in Upperhill, floor space was selling at kes 130,000 per m2 around 5 years ago.
Current sale price per square meter in Upper Hill for office space is around kes 200,000.
This represents an appreciation rate of 10% appreciation for built up office space.
This is closer to the rate of appreciation of building materials in Kenya.
More profitable.
The rate of appreciation of vacant land, at 40% annually is much higher than the rate of appreciation of built up area, at 10%.
Therefore, someone holding vacant land will have a higher income from capital gain compared to someone owning built up area.
The best solution to gain from both of these scenarios is to buy land,then build steel prefabricated housing structures which can be able to bring in monthly rent. The land can then be sold out at a later day or mortgaged to a bank so as to derive the capital gains out of it, assuming that a bank can lend up to 80% of the land value, which over time will have appreciated handsomely.
The structure on it, if made out of steel prefabricated panels,which available at www.a4architect.com , can then be easily relocated to another site without loosing its value.
Separating built up area from vacant land this way will enable one to reap the benefits of wise real estate investment in Kenya.
Architect Francis Gichuhi Kamau, B.Arch. U.o.N. M.A.A.K[A]


text:
I want to line up the portfolio thumbnails like the demo:
In my website the thumbnails are all over the place/ Unorganized
this what mine looks like now. :
all messed up :(
I think a custom mod causes this problem – you can fix it easily though. Open up style.css and at the very bottom add:
#top .entry_portfolio .box1 {
width: auto;
Your amazing! Wish I had your skills ;)
Glad that Dude could help :)
The topic 'SO annoyed. Portfolio Thumbnails won't line up right.' is closed to new replies.


text:
Four furious studs drill hard one trashy looking blonde
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text: I decided to take a gander at some of the apple forums to see what everyone thinks about the new phone and did a quick search for "android". I was really surprised about how many people were praising the android OS. As soon as 3 fanboys would chime in on a thread about how much better the iphone os is and how sloppy and slow the android os is, an iphone user with some knowledge would come right back and ask if they really knew anything about android. All the fanboys had the same response "I played with one for a couple of minutes in a store" Thats when the people with knowledge would explain it takes a little more than a couple of minutes in a store to truly appreciate android how we've been using actual multi-tasking. They go on to explain how useful widgets are compared to their apps and all the usual stuff that we all know about. Half of the kool-aid kids were comparing the 3gs to the cliq when making their comparisons and basing android on that phone. Overall though, I was pleasantly surprised how many of them were defending and trying to explain android to the rest of the popped collar crowd.


text:
Police and soldiers targeted as Egyptian military moves to secure government buildings
Egyptian police forces remove a crate filled with copies of the Koran and religious books after moving in to disperse supporters of Egypt's ousted president Mohamed Morsi (AFP/MOHAMMED ABDEL MONEIM)
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At least 15 Egyptian policemen were killed during clashes with protesters supporting deposed President Mohammed Morsi, Al Arabiya's correspondent reported while Agence France-Presse reported that at least eight protesters were killed on Friday in the Egyptian Mediterranean town of Damietta in clashes with security forces.
Also, four Morsi loyalists were killed in clashes with security forces in the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya, AFP reported a security official as saying.
Violence has been reported elsewhere in the country. In an armed attack on a Cairo checkpoint, one policeman was killed while in al-Arish in north Sinai, an Al Arabiya correspondent reported that one soldier was killed and another was injured after an attack by gunmen.
Tear gas was fired and shooting was heard on Friday at the main Cairo square where thousands of Morsi supporters were protesting against a bloody crackdown on Islamists on Wednesday that killed more than 600 people, a Reuters witness said.
Two witnesses said they saw protesters throw petrol bombs at a police station near the square.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian military is deploying to guard "vital installations," Reuters reported the state media as saying, as Morsi supporters chanted "down with military rule."
In the northern city of Tanta, Egyptian security forces fired birdshot and tear gas to block Morsi loyalists from reaching a government building, AFP reported Friday.
Egypt's Islamists called for a "Friday of anger" in Cairo to express their disdain of the security crackdown against their sit-ins in which at least 623 people have been killed, according to Reuters.
"Anti-coup rallies... will depart from all mosques of Cairo and head towards Ramsis square after [traditional Friday] prayer in 'Friday of Anger'," AFP quoted the Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad al-Haddad as saying via his Twitter account.
"After the blows and arrests and killings that we are facing, emotions are too high to be guided by anyone," Reuters quoted Haddad as saying.
He added: "Despite the pain and sorrow over the loss of our martyrs, the latest coup makers' crime has increased our determination to end them."
Ahead of the Friday protests, a blast has targeted a railway connecting the Alexandria and Marsa Matrouh provinces in Egypt, Al Arabiya's correspondent reported.
Meanwhile, the United Nations urged for "maximum restraint" from all sides as death toll climbed during events on Wednesday when police cleared out two protest camps in Cairo setup to denounce the military overthrow on July 3 of Egypt's first freely elected president, Morsi.
Unaffected by criticism from major Western allies and the United Nations, Egypt's army-backed government continued to warn that it will turn its guns on anyone who attacked the police or public institutions after protesters torched a government building in Cairo on Thursday.
On Thursday, at least seven soldiers and a policeman were killed in the Sinai Peninsula and another police officer killed in the central city of Assiut.
The call for new protests sounds the alarm for renewed violence. Wednesday's crackdown was Egypt's bloodiest day since the the 2011 uprising against autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
Top Headlines
- Egyptian government to use military courts for police attackers
- Report: eight Jordanian professors fired after expressing support to suicide bombings against Israeli, Western targets
- Sinai blasts: Death toll climbs to 33; Egypt police make first arrests
- Cairo Moves to Prevent More Building Collapse Deaths
- Morsi supporters clash with Egyptian military


text: Like swirls of creamy ice cream, Soft Serve wraps your neck in waves of yummy softness. City Tweed is a delicious, squishy yarn and feels great against the skin...unlike ice cream, which would be cold and sticky! Maybe I should rename this thing. ;-) Anyway, what we have is a long, drapey infinity scarf that's easy to knit--plus it's worked in the round, so it's seamless. It offers a bunch of wearing options--long and loose, doubled, loop-knotted, or hooded. The understated design makes Soft Serve suitable for both men and women and its subtle texture adds body and makes a completely reversible, non-rolling fabric. It's easy to resize, just cast on fewer stitches or work fewer rounds, to customize the scarf to be exactly what you want. Just keep the stitch count a multiple of 6. BASIC SKILLS NECESSARY knit purl knit in the round cast on and cast off GAUGE 22 sts by 30 rows = 4 inches (10 cm) SIZING / FINISHED MEASUREMENTS 8 inches deep by 64 inches long SUGGESTED YARN 400 yards of DK weight PREFERRED BRAND/YARN Knit Picks City Tweed DK (4 balls) COLORWAY Morning Glory