Dear Colleagues,

Thanks to the (r)evolution in optical communication systems (fiber and wireless), many signal processing techniques are being developed for new, energy-efficient, high-capacity, fully transparent all-optical and hybrid optical–wireless networks for novel telecom and datacom applications.

Optical fiber communication networks have played an important role in fast data transmission over long distances moving from long-haul, core and metro networks to access networks. Optical wireless communications include technologies covering three optical bands that can be classified based on the typical transmission range in terms of the state of the art as ultra-short-, short-, medium- and long-range links. Their advances are expected in delivering fiber-like data rates in urban areas, particularly taking advantage of the unique and inherent optical carrier characteristics, which is not possible in radio-frequency wireless technologies.

The signal processing techniques developed in the field of Optical Communications are not only aimed at systems but also at networks. Application areas include but are not limited to: possibilities for increasing the data throughput, for effective utilization of available bandwidth and wavelength resources; protocols and algorithms for supporting adaptability, low latency and high link reliability; advanced techniques of computing power, spectral and energy efficiency, power and link budget optimization, network synchronization, multi-carrier modulations, multiple access and relay-assisted transmissions; advances to meet system capacity and security requirements of the future IoT applications, etc.

In this Special Issue, we invite submissions exploring the development of novel advances, applications, and new trends on signal processing techniques in optical and/or electrical domains for optical fiber and/or wireless communications. Survey papers and reviews are also welcomed.

Dr. Rastislav Róka
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) techniques
• flexible and elastic optical fiber communication networks
• Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) techniques
• spectrum allocation and wavelength scheduling techniques
• frequency/phase/time synchronization and fading mitigation
• quantum key distribution (QKD) and quantum cryptography for quantum-secured communications
• Internet of Things (IoT) applications
• Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication links
• Device-to-Device (D2D) applications
• Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication