The first comprehensive applied book in years on this rapidly-changing area of telecommunications, here is the only resource capable of bringing you fully up to speed on the latest developments in fiber optic communication systems (FOCS). Designed to help you master the mathematics and statistics needed to create high-performance FOCS, Fiber Optic Communications offers you current, in-depth coverage of: optical amplification and the operational characteristics of optical amplifiers; several types of optical detectors - including a uniquely rigorous treatment of quantum noise, receiver noise, and noise in optical amplifiers; wave-division multiplexing - which greatly increases the data rate capability of optical fibers; optical heterodyne detection (OHD) systems - including system performance and proven methods for dealing with phase noise; pros and cons of OHD receivers versus direct detection receivers - one of the hottest debates in fiber optics; and design and performance of a proposed OHD system that features much greater detector sensitivity than present systems.