This document discusses several topics related to optical fiber communication systems including:
1. Factors that limit the performance of amplified fiber links such as transmission distance, data rate, and component costs.
2. System requirements including transmission distance, data rate, fiber type, and receiver sensitivities.
3. Key components of fiber optic systems and their specifications including lasers, detectors, and other elements.
4. Performance limiting factors for terrestrial and undersea lightwave systems.
5. Physical phenomena that degrade receiver sensitivity in realistic lightwave systems including modal noise and dispersion broadening.