Bandwidth

n. range of frequencies within a band; maximum rate at which data can be transferred over a communications network (Computers)

For the term in linear algebra, see Sparse matrix. Bandwidth is the difference between the upper and lower cutoff frequencies of, for example, a filter, a communication channel, or a signal spectrum, and is typically measured in hertz. Bandwidth in hertz is a central concept in many fields, including electronics, information theory, radio communications, signal processing, and spectroscopy.
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Noun
1. a data transmission rate; the maximum amount of information (bits/second) that can be transmitted along a channel
(hypernym) information measure

1. The difference between the limiting frequencies within which performance of a device, in respect to some characteristic, falls within specified limits. (188 ) 2. The difference between the limiting frequencies of a continuous frequency band. (188 ) href="http://www.its.bldrdoc.gov/fs-1037/dir-001/_0063.htm#188">188188 )

1. The lowest modulation frequency at which the RMS peak-to-valley amplitude (optical power ) difference of an intensity -modulated monochromatic signal decreases, at the output of the fiber, to a specified fraction (usually one-half) of the RMS peak-to-valley amplitude (optical power) difference of a nearly-zero (arbitrarily low) modulation frequency, both modulation frequencies having the same RMS peak-to-valley amplitude (optical power) difference at the fiber input . Note 1: In multimode fibers, multimode distortion is usually the most significant parameter limiting fiber bandwidth, although material dispersion may also play a significant role, especially in the first (850-nm) window . Note 2: In multimode fibers, the bandwidth•distance product (colloquially, "fiber bandwidth" ) is customarily specified by vendors for the bandwidth as limited by multimode distortion only. The spectral width of the optical source is assumed to be extremely narrow. In practice, the effective fiber bandwidth will also be limited by dispersion , especially in the first (850-nm) window , where material dispersion is relatively high, because optical sources have a finite spectral width. Laser diodes typically have a spectral width of several nanometers, FWHM. LEDs typically have a spectral width of 35 to 100 nm, FWHM. Note 3: The effective risetime of multimode fibers may be estimated fairly accurately as the square root of the sum of the squares of the material-dispersion-limited risetime and the multimode-distortion-limited risetime. Note 4: In single-mode fibers, the most important parameters affecting fiber bandwidth are material dispersion and waveguide dispersion. Practical fibers are designed so that material dispersion and waveguide dispersion cancel one another at the wavelength of interest. Note 5: Regarding effective fiber bandwidth as it affects overall system performance, it should be recognized that optical detectors such as PIN diodes are square-law devices. Their photocurrent is proportional to the optical power of the detected signal . Because electrical power is a function of the square of the current, when the optical power decreases by one-half (a 3-dB decrease), the electrical power decreases by three-fourths (a 6-dB decrease). 2. Loosely, synonym bandwidth•distance product .

Of an optical fiber, under specified launching and cabling conditions, at a specified wavelength, a figure of merit equal to the product of the fiber's length and the 3-dB bandwidth of the optical signal. Note 1: The bandwidth•distance product is usually stated in megahertz•kilometer (MHz•km) or gigahertz•kilometer (GHz•km). Note 2: The bandwidth•distance product, which is normalized to 1 km, is a useful figure of merit for predicting the effective fiber bandwidth for other lengths, and for concatenated fibers. Synonym bandwidth•length product.

Synonym for bandwidth•distance product .

<communications> The difference between the highest and lowest frequencies of a transmission channel (the width of its allocated band of frequencies).
The term is often used erroneously to mean data rate or capacity - the amount of data that is, or can be, sent through a given communications circuit per second.
[How is data capacity related to bandwidth?]
[Jargon File]
(2001-04-24)