Real-time transmission of geometrically-shaped signals using a software-defined GPU-based optical receiver.

A software-defined optical receiver is implemented on an off-the-shelf commercial graphics processing unit (GPU). The receiver provides real-time signal processing functionality to process 1 GBaud minimum phase (MP) 4-, 8-, 16-, 32-, 64-, 128-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) as well as geometrically shaped (GS) 8- and 128-QAM signals using Kramers-Kronig (KK) coherent detection. Experimental validation of this receiver over a 91 km field-deployed optical fiber link between two Tokyo locations is shown with detailed optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) investigations. A net data rate of 5 Gbps using 64-QAM is demonstrated.

Ultra-wide band (O to L) photonic integrated polymer cross-bar switch matrix.

We present an ultra-wide band photonic integrated 4×4 polymer cross-bar switch matrix based on total internal reflection and the thermo-optic effect. The photonic integrated polymer switch owns low insertion loss, low power consumption, wavelength, and polarization-independent operation for all switching paths. The experimental results show ultra-wide band (O- to L-band) operation with fiber-to-fiber insertion losses ranging from -3.7 to -6.5dB, 0.1 to 0.6 dB polarization-dependent losses, switching the on-off ratio above 36 dB on average, and 25 mW power consumption per path. Error-free operation with a power penalty <0.2dB at 1 E-9 bit error rate (BER) for ultra-wide band non-return-to-zero on-off keying (NRZ-OOK) wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) switched signals at 10, 25, 40, and 50 Gbit/s, and 510 Gbps dual polarization 64-QAM switched data with a negligible penalty were measured.

Hard-Decision Coded Modulation for High-Throughput Short-Reach Optical Interconnect.

Coded modulation (CM), a combination of forward error correction (FEC) and high order modulation formats, has become a key part of modern optical communication systems. Designing CM schemes with strict complexity requirements for optical communications (e.g., data center interconnects) is still challenging mainly because of the expected low latency, low overhead, and the stringent high data rate requirements. In this paper, we propose a CM scheme with bit-wise hard-decision FEC and geometric shaping. In particular, we propose to combine the recently introduced soft-aided bit-marking decoding algorithm for staircase codes (SCCs) with geometrically-shaped constellations. The main goal of this CM scheme is to jointly boost the coding gain and provide shaping gain, while keeping the complexity low. When compared to existing CM systems based on M-ary quadrature-amplitude modulation (MQAM, M = 64 , 128 , 256 ) and conventional decoding of SCCs, the proposed scheme shows improvements of up to 0.83 dB at a bit-error rate of 10 - 6 in the additive white Gaussian noise channel. For a nonlinear optical fiber system, simulation results show up to 24 % reach increase. In addition, the proposed CM scheme enables rate adaptivity in single-wavelength systems, offering six different data rates between 450 Gbit/s and 666 Gbit/s.

Scaling photonic lanterns for space-division multiplexing.

We present a new technique allowing the fabrication of large modal count photonic lanterns for space-division multiplexing applications. We demonstrate mode-selective photonic lanterns supporting 10 and 15 spatial channels by using graded-index fibres and microstructured templates. These templates are a versatile approach to position the graded-index fibres in the required geometry for efficient mode sampling and conversion. Thus, providing an effective scalable method for large number of spatial modes in a repeatable manner. Further, we demonstrate the efficiency and functionality of our photonic lanterns for optical communications. Our results show low insertion and mode dependent losses, as well as enhanced mode selectivity when spliced to few mode transmission fibres. These photonic lantern mode multiplexers are an enabling technology for future ultra-high capacity optical transmission systems.

Characterization of Rayleigh backscattering arising in various two-mode fibers.

We experimentally characterize the mode dependent characteristics of Rayleigh backscattering (RB) arising in various two-mode fibers (TMFs). With the help of an all-fiber photonic lantern, we are able to measure the RB power at individual modes. Consequently, mode dependent power distribution of RB light caused by arbitrary forward propagation mode superposition can be obtained. The total RB power of the TMFs under test is higher than that of single mode fiber by at least 2 dB over the C band. Meanwhile, the RB light occurs among all guided modes in the TMFs with specific power ratios. The experimental characterization agrees well with the theoretical calculations.

Mode-dependent characterization of photonic lanterns.

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a simple method for characterizing the power transfer matrix of photonic lanterns (PLs) used for mode division multiplexing (MDM) transmission. Due to the optical reflection arising at output facet of the few-mode fiber (FMF), we are able to detect the power at the individual single-mode fiber (SMF) input port and exploit a series of equations based on the theory of energy conservation to obtain mode-dependent characteristics of the PL, including the property of mode selectivity, insertion loss (IL), and channel-dependent loss (CDL). The proposed method is experimentally verified for both the mode selective and the nonmode selective photonic lanterns.

10 Spatial mode transmission using low differential mode delay 6-LP fiber using all-fiber photonic lanterns.

To unlock the cost benefits of space division multiplexing transmission systems, higher spatial multiplicity is required. Here, we investigate a potential route to increasing the number of spatial mode channels within a single core few-mode fiber. Key for longer transmission distances and low computational complexity is the fabrication of fibers with low differential mode group delays. As such in this work, we combine wavelength and mode-division multiplexed transmission over a 4.45 km low-DMGD 6-LP-mode fiber by employing low-loss all-fiber 10-port photonic lanterns to couple light in and out of the fiber. Hence, a minimum DMGD of 0.2 ns (maximum 0.357 ns) is measured after 4.45 km. Instrumental to the multi-mode transmission system is the employed time-domain-SDM receiver, allowing 10 spatial mode channels (over both polarizations) to be captured using only 3 coherent receivers and real-time oscilloscopes in comparison with 10 for conventional methods. The spatial channels were unraveled using 20 × 20 multiple-input multiple-output digital signal processing. By employing a novel round-robin encoding technique, stable performance over a long measurement period demonstrates the feasibility of 10x increase in single-core multi-mode transmission.

Advanced coding techniques for few mode transmission systems.

We experimentally verify the advantage of employing advanced coding schemes such as space-time coding and 4 dimensional modulation formats to enhance the transmission performance of a 3-mode transmission system. The performance gain of space-time block codes for extending the optical signal-to-noise ratio tolerance in multiple-input multiple-output optical coherent spatial division multiplexing transmission systems with respect to single-mode transmission performance are evaluated. By exploiting the spatial diversity that few-mode-fibers offer, with respect to single mode fiber back-to-back performance, significant OSNR gains of 3.2, 4.1, 4.9, and 6.8 dB at the hard-decision forward error correcting limit are demonstrated for DP-QPSK 8, 16 and 32 QAM, respectively. Furthermore, by employing 4D constellations, 6 × 28Gbaud 128 set partitioned quadrature amplitude modulation is shown to outperform conventional 8 QAM transmission performance, whilst carrying an additional 0.5 bit/symbol.

Time domain multiplexed spatial division multiplexing receiver.

A novel time domain multiplexed (TDM) spatial division multiplexing (SDM) receiver which allows for the reception of >1 dual polarization mode with a single coherent receiver, and corresponding 4-port oscilloscope, is experimentally demonstrated. Received by two coherent receivers and respective 4-port oscilloscopes, a 3 mode transmission of 28GBaud QPSK, 8, 16, and 32QAM over 41.7km of few-mode fiber demonstrates the performance of the TDM-SDM receiver with respect to back-to-back. In addition, by using carrier phase estimation employing one digital phase locked loop per output, the frequency offset between the transmitter laser and local oscillator is shown to perform similar to previous work which employs 3 coherent receivers and 4-port oscilloscopes which are dedicated to the reception of each the three modes.

MIMO equalization with adaptive step size for few-mode fiber transmission systems.

Optical multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission systems generally employ minimum mean squared error time or frequency domain equalizers. Using an experimental 3-mode dual polarization coherent transmission setup, we show that the convergence time of the MMSE time domain equalizer (TDE) and frequency domain equalizer (FDE) can be reduced by approximately 50% and 30%, respectively. The criterion used to estimate the system convergence time is the time it takes for the MIMO equalizer to reach an average output error which is within a margin of 5% of the average output error after 50,000 symbols. The convergence reduction difference between the TDE and FDE is attributed to the limited maximum step size for stable convergence of the frequency domain equalizer. The adaptive step size requires a small overhead in the form of a lookup table. It is highlighted that the convergence time reduction is achieved without sacrificing optical signal-to-noise ratio performance.

Compact spatial multiplexers for mode division multiplexing.

Spatial multiplexer (SMUX) for mode division multiplexing (MDM) has evolved from mode-selective excitation, multiple-spot and photonic-lantern based solutions in order to minimize both mode-dependent loss (MDL) and coupler insertion loss (CIL). This paper discusses the implementation of all the three solutions by compact components in a small footprint. Moreover, the compact SMUX can be manufactured in mass production and packaged to assure high reliability. First, push-pull scheme and center launch based SMUXes are demonstrated on two mostly-popular photonic integration platforms: Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and Indium Phosphide (InP) for selectively exciting LP01 and LP11 modes. 2-dimensional (2D) top-coupling by using vertical emitters is explored to provide a coupling interface between a few-mode fiber (FMF) and the photonic integrated SMUX. SOI-based grating couplers and InP-based 45° vertical mirrors are proposed and researched as vertical emitters in each platform. Second, a 3-spot SMUX is realized on an InP-based circuit through employing 45° vertical mirrors. Third, as a newly-emerging photonic integration platform, laser-inscribed 3D waveguide (3DW) technology is applied for a fully-packaged dual-channel 6-mode SMUX including two 6-core photonic lantern structures as mode multiplexer and demultiplexer, respectively.

In-home networks integrating high-capacity DMT data and DVB-T over large-core GI-POF.

The low-cost in-home distribution of full-standard digital TV jointly with high-bitrate data using 50 m long 1 mm core diameter graded-index plastic optical fiber (GI-POF) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Discrete multitone (DMT) modulation is demonstrated to provide an adaptive bitrate which can spectrally coexist with digital video broadcasting-terrestrial (DVB-T) signals in 470-862 MHz. A 3 Gb/s DMT signal and two DVB-T channels are generated, transmitted and received exhibiting excellent performance.