High bitrate data transmission in the 8-14 µm atmospheric window using an external Stark-effect modulator with digital equalization.

High bitrate mid-infrared links using simple (NRZ) and multi-level (PAM-4) data coding schemes have been realized in the 8 µm to 14 µm atmospheric transparency window. The free space optics system is composed of unipolar quantum optoelectronic devices, namely a continuous wave quantum cascade laser, an external Stark-effect modulator and a quantum cascade detector, all operating at room-temperature. Pre- and post-processing are implemented to get enhanced bitrates, especially for PAM-4 where inter-symbol interference and noise are particularly detrimental to symbol demodulation. By exploiting these equalization procedures, our system, with a full frequency cutoff of 2 GHz, has reached transmission bitrates of 12 Gbit/s NRZ and 11 Gbit/s PAM-4 fulfilling the 6.25 % overhead hard-decision forward error correction threshold, limited only by the low signal-to-noise ratio of our detector.

Silica micro-rod resonator-based Kerr frequency comb for high-speed short-reach optical interconnects.

Conventional data center interconnects rely on power-hungry arrays of discrete wavelength laser sources. However, growing bandwidth demand severely challenges ensuring the power and spectral efficiency toward which data center interconnects tend to strive. Kerr frequency combs based on silica microresonators can replace multiple laser arrays, easing the pressure on data center interconnect infrastructure. Therefore, we experimentally demonstrate a bit rate of up to 100 Gbps/λ employing 4-level pulse amplitude modulated signal transmission over a 2 km long short-reach optical interconnect that can be considered a record using any Kerr frequency comb light source, specifically based on a silica micro-rod. In addition, data transmission using the non-return to zero on-off keying modulation format is demonstrated to achieve 60 Gbps/λ. The silica micro-rod resonator-based Kerr frequency comb light source generates an optical frequency comb in the optical C-band with 90 GHz spacing between optical carriers. Data transmission is supported by frequency domain pre-equalization techniques to compensate amplitude-frequency distortions and limited bandwidths of electrical system components. Additionally, achievable results are enhanced with offline digital signal processing, implementing post-equalization using feed-forward and feedback taps.

Optical amplification-free deep reservoir computing-assisted high-baudrate short-reach communication.

An optical amplification-free deep reservoir computing (RC)-assisted high-baudrate intensity modulation direct detection (IM/DD) system is experimentally demonstrated using a 100G externally modulated laser operated in C-band. We transmit 112 Gbaud 4-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4) and 100 Gbaud 6-level PAM (PAM6) signals over a 200-m single-mode fiber (SMF) link without any optical amplification. The decision feedback equalizer (DFE), shallow RC, and deep RC are adopted in the IM/DD system to mitigate impairment and improve transmission performance. Both PAM transmissions over a 200-m SMF with bit error rate (BER) performance below 6.25% overhead hard-decision forward error correction (HD-FEC) threshold are achieved. In addition, the BER of the PAM4 signal is below the KP4-FEC limit after 200-m SMF transmission enabled by the RC schemes. Thanks to the use of a multiple-layer structure, the number of weights in deep RC has been reduced by approximately 50% compared with the shallow RC, whereas the performance is comparable. We believe that the optical amplification-free deep RC-assisted high-baudrate link has a promising application in intra-data center communications.

Road Pavement Structural Health Monitoring by Embedded Fiber-Bragg-Grating-Based Optical Sensors.

Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) optical sensors are state-of-the-art technology that can be integrated into the road structure, providing real-time traffic-induced strain readings and ensuring the monitoring of the road's structural health. By implementing specific FBG sensors, it is possible to detect each vehicle's axle count and the induced strain changes in the road structure. In this study, FBG sensors are embedded at the top of the 240-mm-thick cement-treated reclaimed asphalt pavement mixture layer of the road (specifically, 25 mm deep within the road). Optical sensors' signal interrogation units are used to measure the strain and temperature and collect data of the road's passing vehicles, starting from passenger cars that have two axles and up to heavy trucks that have six axles. Passenger cars with 2 axles generate a typical (90% events) strain of 0.8-4.1 µm/m, the 2-axle minibus 5.5-8.5 µm/m, 2-3-axle trucks 11-26 µm/m, but 4-6-axle trucks 14-36 µm/m per each axle. A large number of influencing parameters determine the pavement design leading to the great uncertainty in the prediction of the strain at the boundary between the asphalt surface and cement-treated base layers. Real-time strain and temperature measurements help to understand the actual behavior of the pavement structure under an applied load, thus assisting in validating the proposed pavement design.

FPGA-Implemented Fractal Decoder with Forward Error Correction in Short-Reach Optical Interconnects.

Forward error correction (FEC) codes combined with high-order modulator formats, i.e., coded modulation (CM), are essential in optical communication networks to achieve highly efficient and reliable communication. The task of providing additional error control in the design of CM systems with high-performance requirements remains urgent. As an additional control of CM systems, we propose to use indivisible error detection codes based on a positional number system. In this work, we evaluated the indivisible code using the average probability method (APM) for the binary symmetric channel (BSC), which has the simplicity, versatility and reliability of the estimate, which is close to reality. The APM allows for evaluation and compares indivisible codes according to parameters of correct transmission, and detectable and undetectable errors. Indivisible codes allow for the end-to-end (E2E) control of the transmission and processing of information in digital systems and design devices with a regular structure and high speed. This study researched a fractal decoder device for additional error control, implemented in field-programmable gate array (FPGA) software with FEC for short-reach optical interconnects with multilevel pulse amplitude (PAM-M) modulated with Gray code mapping. Indivisible codes with natural redundancy require far fewer hardware costs to develop and implement encoding and decoding devices with a sufficiently high error detection efficiency. We achieved a reduction in hardware costs for a fractal decoder by using the fractal property of the indivisible code from 10% to 30% for different n while receiving the reciprocal of the golden ratio.

Demonstration of a fiber optical communication system employing a silica microsphere-based OFC source.

The fabrication of microsphere resonators and the generation of optical frequency combs (OFC) have achieved a significant breakthrough in the past decade. Despite these advances, no studies have reported the experimental implementation and demonstration of silica microsphere OFCs for data transmission. In this work, to the best of our knowledge, we experimentally for the first time present a designed silica microsphere whispering-gallery-mode microresonator (WGMR) OFC as a C-band light source where 400 GHz spaced carriers provide data transmission of up to 10 Gbps NRZ-OOK modulated signals over the standard ITU-T G.652 telecom fiber span of 20 km in length. A proof-of-concept experiment is performed with two newly generated carriers (from 7-carrier OFC) having the highest peak power. The experimental realization is also strengthened by the modeling and simulations of the proposed system showing a strong match of the results. The demonstrated setup serves as a platform for the future experimental implementation of silica microsphere WGMR-OFC in more complex WDM transmission system realizations with advanced modulation schemes.

Quantum-Dot-Induced Modification of Surface Functionalization for Active Applications of Whispering Gallery Mode Resonators.

Quantum dots can modify the properties of the whispering gallery mode resonators (WGMRs) used in various potential applications. A deposition of a suitable nanomaterial for the surface functionalization of WGMRs allows for the achievement of high quality (Q) factors. Here, we show that the WGMR surface can be functionalized using quantum dots. We demonstrate that WGMRs covered with thin layers of HgS and PbS quantum dots are suitable for third-harmonic generation due to the high Q factor of the developed microresonators, thus significantly lowering the pumping power required for nonlinear optical interactions.