Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is the underlying modulation and transmission technology behind the success of modern wireless standards for both cellular, digital television and digital radio communications and also for Digital Subscriber Line wired access. Higher data rates to handle and the special nature of electronic-optic conversions and of optical wave propagation, can hold the key as to why it is only now that OFDM signal transmission over fiber is starting to take off. In this Master Thesis Project we aim at establishing the basis of OFDM transmission over optical fiber for both direct-detection as well as coherent systems, for different optical modulation formats at the emitter; and to characterize their performance as a function of key parameters such as fiber chromatic dispersion, the amount of Cyclic Prefix, Peak to Average Power Ratio, etc. through the use of optical transmission simulation packages such as Virtual Photonics Inc.
