bandwidth Archives - EFFECT Photonics

Insights

July 11, 2023

Where is 100ZR Needed?

Simply relying on traditional direct detect technologies will not meet the growing bandwidth and service…

Simply relying on traditional direct detect technologies will not meet the growing bandwidth and service requirements of mobile, cable, and business access networks, particularly regarding long-distance transmission. In many instances, deploying 100G coherent dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) technology becomes essential to transmit larger volumes of data over extended distances.

Several applications in the optical network edge could benefit from upgrading from 10G DWDM or 100G grey aggregation uplinks to 100G DWDM optics:

Mobile Mid-haul: Seamless upgrade of existing uplinks from 10G to 100G DWDM.
Mobile Backhaul: Upgrading links to 100G IPoDWDM.
Cable Access: Upgrading uplinks of termination devices like optical line terminals (OLTs) and Converged Cable Access Platforms (CCAPs) from 10G to 100G DWDM.
Business Services: Scaling enterprise bandwidth beyond single-channel 100G grey links.

However, network providers have often been reluctant to abandon their 10G DWDM or 100G grey links because existing 100G DWDM solutions did not fulfill all the requirements. Although “scaled-down” coherent 400ZR solutions offered the desired reach and tunability, they proved too expensive and power-intensive for many access network applications. Moreover, the ports in small to medium IP routers used in most edge deployments do not support the commonly used QSFP-DD form factor of 400ZR modules but rather the QSFP28 form factor.

How Coherent 100ZR Can Move into Mobile X-haul

Figure-5gc-dwdm-midhaul — Figure 1: Simplified diagram of a DWDM link in the midhaul and backhaul of a mobile network.

The transition from 4G to 5G has transformed the radio access network (RAN) structure, evolving it from a two-level system (backhaul and fronthaul) in 4G to a three-level system (backhaul, midhaul, and fronthaul) in 5G:

Fronthaul: The segment between the active antenna unit (AAU) and the distributed unit (DU).
Midhaul: The segment from DU to the centralized unit (CU).
Backhaul: The segment from CU to the core network.

Figure-backhaul-fronthaul — Figure 2: Simplified diagram that shows and compares the building blocks of 4G (left) and 5G (right) access networks and the links between these blocks.

Most developed countries have already initiated the rollout of 5G, with many operators upgrading their 1G SFP transceivers to 10G SFP+ devices. Some of these 10G solutions incorporated DWDM technology, but many were single-channel grey transceivers. However, to advance to the next phase of 5G deployments, mobile networks must install and aggregate a greater number of smaller base stations to accommodate the exponential increase in connected devices.

These advanced stages of 5G deployment will necessitate operators to cost-effectively scale fiber capacity using more prevalent 10G DWDM SFP+ solutions and 25G SFP28 transceivers. This upgrade will pressure the aggregation segments of mobile backhaul and midhaul, which typically rely on link aggregation of multiple 10G DWDM links into a higher bandwidth group (e.g., 4x10G).

Figure 4x10G link aggregation — Figure 3: Comparison between 4x10G link aggregation and using a single coherent 100ZR link.

However, this type of link aggregation involves splitting larger traffic streams and can be intricate to integrate within an access ring. Adopting a single 100G uplink diminishes the need for such link aggregation, simplifying network configuration and operations. To gain further insight into the potential market and reach of this link aggregation upgrade, it is recommended to consult the recent Cignal AI report on 100ZR technologies.

Coherent 100ZR Uplinks Driven by Cable Migration to 10G PON

Figure-Fixed-Access-Uplinks-DWDM — Figure 4: Simplified diagram of a DWDM link between the coherent termination device (CTD) and the hub in a cable access network.

Cignal AI’s 100ZR report also states that the primary catalyst for 100ZR adoption will be the multiplexing of fixed access network links transitioning from 1G to 10G. This trend will be evident in the long-awaited shift of cable networks from Gigabit Passive Optical Networks (GPON) to 10G PON, driven by the new DOCSIS 4.0 standard. This standard promises 10Gbps download speeds for customers and necessitates several hardware upgrades in cable networks.

To multiplex these larger 10Gbps customer links, cable providers and network operators must upgrade their optical line terminals (OLTs) and Converged Cable Access Platforms (CCAPs) with 100G DWDM uplinks. Additionally, many of these new optical hubs will support up to 40 or 80 optical distribution networks (ODNs), making the previous approach of aggregating multiple 10G DWDM uplinks insufficient for handling the increased capacity and higher number of channels.

Anticipating these needs, the non-profit R&D organization CableLabs has recently spearheaded the development of a 100G Coherent PON (C-PON) standard. This proposal offers 100 Gbps per wavelength with a maximum reach of 80 km and a split ratio of up to 1:512. CableLabs envisions that C-PON, with its 100G capabilities, will play a significant role not only in cable optical network aggregation but also in other scenarios such as mobile x-haul, fiber-to-the-building (FTTB), long-reach rural areas, and distributed access networks.

Advancements in Business Services with 100ZR Coherent and QSFP28

Figure-cloud-DWDM — Figure 5: Simplified diagram of a DWDM link between a business and a cloud provider.

Nearly every organization utilizes the cloud in some capacity, whether for resource development and testing or software-as-a-service applications. However, leveraging the cloud effectively requires fast, high-bandwidth wide-area connectivity to ensure optimal performance of cloud-based applications.

Like cable networks, enterprises will need to upgrade their existing 1G Ethernet private lines to 10G Ethernet to meet these requirements, consequently driving the demand for 100G coherent uplinks. Cable providers and operators will also seek to capitalize on their upgraded 10G PON networks by expanding the reach and capacity of their business services.

The business and enterprise services sector was an early adopter of 100G coherent uplinks, deploying “scaled-down” 400ZR transceivers in the QSFP-DD form factor when they were the available solution. However, since QSFP-DD slots also support QSFP28 form factors, the emergence of QSFP 100ZR solutions presents a more appealing upgrade for these enterprise applications, offering reduced cost and power consumption.

While QSFP28 solutions had struggled to gain widespread acceptance due to the requirement for new, low-power digital signal processors (DSPs), DSP developers and vendors are now actively involved in 100ZR development projects: Acacia, Coherent/ADVA, Marvell/InnoLight, and Marvell/OE Solutions. This is also why EFFECT Photonics has announced its plans to co-develop a 100G DSP with Credo Semiconductor that best fits 100ZR solutions in the QSFP28 form factor.

Table Comparison QSFP-DD and QSFP-28. — Figure 6: Comparison between QSFP-DD and QSFP-28 form factors for 100G applications.

Takeaways

In the coming years, deploying and applying 100G coherent uplinks will witness increasing prevalence across the network edge. Specific use cases in mobile access networks will require transitioning from existing 10G DWDM link aggregation to a single coherent 100G DWDM uplink.

Simultaneously, the migration of cable networks and business services from 1Gbps to 10Gbps customer links will be the primary driver for the demand for coherent 100G uplinks. For carriers providing converged cable/mobile access, these uplink upgrades will create opportunities to integrate additional business services and mobile traffic into their existing cable networks.

As the ecosystem for QSFP28 100ZR solutions expands, production will scale up, making these solutions more widely accessible and affordable. This, in turn, will unlock new use cases within access networks.

Tags: 100G, 100G ZR, 100ZR, 10G, 10G PON, 5G, 5G deployment, aggregation, backhaul, bandwidth, business service, Business services, Cable access, cable networks, CCAP, Cloud connectivity, coherent, Coherent DWDM, Converged Cable Access Platforms (CCAPs), edge, Ethernet private lines, Fiber capacity, fronthaul, FTTH, IoT, Link aggregation, midhaul, mobile, mobile access network, mobile networks, Network providers, OLT, Optical line terminals (OLTs), PON, power, QSFP-DD, QSFP28, revenue, traffic, upgrade, uplink, Wide-area connectivity

Insights

July 5, 2023

The Evolution to 800G and Beyond

Article first published 26th October 2022, updated 5th July 2023. The demand for data and…

Article first published 26^th October 2022, updated 5^thJuly 2023.

The demand for data and other digital services is rising exponentially. From 2010 to 2020, the number of Internet users worldwide doubled, and global internet traffic increased 12-fold. From 2020 to 2026, internet traffic will likely increase 5-fold. To meet this demand, datacom, and telecom operators need constantly upgrade their transport networks.

400 Gbps links are becoming the standard for links all across telecom transport networks and data center interconnects, but providers are already thinking about the next steps. LightCounting forecasts significant growth in shipments of dense-wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) ports with data rates of 600G, 800G, and beyond in the next five years.

shipments-dwdm — Figure 1: Shipments of high-speed DWDM ports by data rate (historical data and forecast). Source: LightCounting Optical Communications Market Forecast, April 2022.

The major obstacles in this roadmap remain the power consumption, thermal management, and affordability of transceivers. Over the last two decades, power ratings for pluggable modules have increased as we moved from direct detection to more power-hungry coherent transmission: from 2W for SFP modules to 3.5 W for QSFP modules and now to 14W for QSSFP-DD and 21.1W for OSFP form factors. Rockley Photonics researchers estimate that a future electronic switch filled with 800G modules would draw around 1 kW of power just for the optical modules.

Thus, many incentives exist to continue improving the performance and power consumption of pluggable optical transceivers. By embracing increased photonic integration, co-designed PICs and DSPs, and multi-laser arrays, pluggables will be better able to scale in data rates while remaining affordable and at low power.

Direct Detect or Coherent for 800G and Beyond?

While coherent technology has become the dominant one in metro distances (80 km upwards), the campus (< 10 km) and intra-data center (< 2 km) distances remain in contention between direct detect technologies such as PAM 4 and coherent.

These links were originally the domain of direct detect products when the data rates were 100Gbps. However, as we move into Terabit speeds, the power consumption of coherent technology is much closer to that of direct detect PAM-4 solutions.

A major reason for this decreased gap is that direct detect technology will often require additional amplifiers and compensators at these data rates, while coherent pluggables do not. This also makes coherent technology simpler to deploy and maintain. Furthermore, as the volume production of coherent transceivers increases, their price will also become competitive with direct detect solutions.

Increased Integration and Co-Design are Key to Reduce Power Consumption

Lately, we have seen many efforts to increase further the integration on a component level across the electronics industry. For example, moving towards greater integration of components in a single chip has yielded significant efficiency benefits in electronics processors. Apple’s M1 processor integrates all electronic functions in a single system-on-chip (SoC) and consumes a third of the power compared to the processors with discrete components used in their previous generations of computers. We can observe this progress in the table below.

Mac Mini Model	Power Consumption (Watts)
Mac Mini Model	Idle	Max
2023, M2	7	5
2020, M1	7	39
2018, Core i7	20	122
2014, Core i5	6	85
2010, Core 2 Duo	10	85
2006, Core Solo or Duo	23	110
2005, PowerPC G4	32	85

Table 1: Comparing the power consumption of a Mac Mini with an M1 SoC chip to previous generations of Mac Minis. [Source: Apple’s website]

Photonics can achieve greater efficiency gains by following a similar approach to integration. The interconnects required to couple discrete optical components result in electrical and optical losses that must be compensated with higher transmitter power and more energy consumption. In contrast, the more active and passive optical components (lasers, modulators, detectors, etc.) manufacturers can integrate on a single chip, the more energy they can save since they avoid coupling losses between discrete components.

integrated-laser — Figure 2: Example of integrating a laser to other photonic components through different integration approaches. The approach of full integration (right side) is the one that minimizes losses.

Reducing Complexity with Multi-Laser Arrays

Earlier this year, Intel Labs demonstrated an eight-wavelength laser array fully integrated on a silicon wafer. These milestones will provide more cost-effective ways for pluggables to scale to higher data rates.

Let’s say we need a data center interconnect with 1.6 Terabits/s of capacity. There are three ways we could implement it:

Four modules of 400G: This solution uses existing off-the-shelf modules but has the largest footprint. It requires four slots in the router faceplate and an external multiplexer to merge these into a single 1.6T channel.
One module of 1.6T: This solution will not require the external multiplexer and occupies just one plug slot on the router faceplate. However, making a single-channel 1.6T device has the highest complexity and cost.
One module with four internal channels of 400G: A module with an array of four lasers (and thus four different 400G channels) will only require one plug slot on the faceplate while avoiding the complexity and cost of the single-channel 1.6T approach.

comparison-module — Table 2: Comparison of different ways to implement a 1.6 Terabit/s link: four modules of 400G, a single-channel 1.6T module, and a module with four channels of 400G.

Multi-laser array and multi-channel solutions will become increasingly necessary to increase link capacity in coherent systems. They will not need more slots in the router faceplate while simultaneously avoiding the higher cost and complexity of increasing the speed with just a single channel.

Takeaways

The pace of worldwide data demand is relentless, with it the pace of link upgrades required by datacom and telecom networks. 400G transceivers are currently replacing previous 100G solutions, and in a few years, they will be replaced by transceivers with data rates of 800G or 1.6 Terabytes.

The cost and power consumption of coherent technology remain barriers to more widespread capacity upgrades, but the industry is finding ways to overcome them. Tighter photonic integration can minimize the losses of optical systems and their power consumption. Finally, the onset of multi-laser arrays can avoid the higher cost and complexity of increasing capacity with just a single transceiver channel.

Tags: bandwidth, co-designing, coherent, DSP, full integration, integration, interface, line cards, optical engine, power consumption, RF Interconnections, Viasat

Insights

June 28, 2023

Coherent Lite and The Future Inside the Data Center

In the dynamic landscape of data centers, the demand for greater bandwidth and extended reach…

In the dynamic landscape of data centers, the demand for greater bandwidth and extended reach is rapidly increasing. As shown in the figure below, we can think about three categories of data center interconnects based on their reach

Intra-data center interconnects (< 2km)
Campus data center interconnects (<10km)
Metro data center interconnects (<100km)

Asset 6 data center interconnect — Figure 1: Example of different data center interconnect (DCI) links. Intra-data center interconnects usually have lengths up to 2kms, campus interconnects up to 10km, and metro DCIs up to 100km, although there can be longer DCIs.

Coherent optical technology has already established itself as the go-to solution for interconnecting data centers over long distances in metro areas.

However, within the confines of data centers themselves, intensity-modulated direct detect (IM-DD) technology remains dominant. Recognizing the limitations of IM-DD in meeting evolving requirements, the industry is exploring “Coherent Lite” solutions—a simplified implementation of coherent technology designed specifically for shorter-reach data center connections.

This article delves into the concept of coherent lite technology and its potential to address the escalating bandwidth demands within data centers.

Reducing Dispersion Compensation

The quality of the light signal degrades when traveling through an optical fiber by a process called dispersion. The same phenomenon happens when a prism splits white light into several colors. The fiber also adds other distortions due to nonlinear optical effects. These effects get worse as the input power of the light signal increases, leading to a trade-off. You might want more power to transmit over longer distances, but the nonlinear distortions also become larger, which beats the point of using more power. The DSP performs several operations on the light signal that try to offset these dispersion and nonlinear distortions.

Asset 7 dispersion in optical fibers — Figure 2: Explaining dispersion compensation in optical fibers. A pulse of light will spread out and distort due to dispersion effects.

However, shorter-reach connections require less dispersion compensation, presenting an opportunity to streamline the implementation of coherent solutions. Coherent lite implementations can reduce the use of dispersion compensation blocks. This significantly lowers system power consumption.

The Trade-Offs Between Fixed and Tunable Lasers

Coherent lite solutions also aim to replace tunable lasers with fixed lasers to reduce costs. The use of fixed lasers eliminates the need for wavelength tuning and associated control circuitry and algorithms, simplifying the implementation and reducing operational complexities.

While fixed lasers offer significant advantages, tunable lasers will push to remain competitive. As we described in a previous article, advances in tunable laser technology aim to further reduce package footprints and leverage electronic ecosystems to reduce cost. Such developments will allow tunable lasers to keep pace with the demands of coherent lite solutions, ensuring a viable alternative for shorter-reach data center connections.

Scaling Data Center Links

The increasing length and bandwidth of links within data centers is increasingly calling for the use of coherent technology. As bandwidth scales to 1.6 and 3.2 terabits, traditional direct detect technology faces challenges in keeping up with the growing distances. Intra data center links that were previously limited to 2 kilometers are now extending to 5 or even 10 kilometers, demanding more robust and efficient transmission technologies.

In this context, coherent lite technology provides an attractive middle ground for enabling extended-reach connections within data centers. By leveraging some aspects of coherent solutions, coherent lite technologies facilitate the reliable and efficient transport of data over longer distances.

Takeaways

As data centers evolve to accommodate escalating bandwidth demands, coherent lite technology emerges as a promising solution for communication links within these facilities. By reducing dispersion compensation, simplifying their laser setups, and enabling extended-reach transmission, coherent lite solutions address the limitations of traditional direct detect technology. These advancements pave the way for enhanced performance, and seamless scalability within data center environments.

Tags: 1.6T, 3.2T, bandwidth, coherent, Coherent Lite, Coherent Transmissions, Complexity, CWDM, Data center, datacom, dispersion compensation, Fixed Lasers, IM-DD (Intensity-Modulated Direct Detect), Interconnects, Intra DC, optical technology, power, reach, Scaling Data Center Links, Simplification, Single Wavelength

Press Releases

December 15, 2021

Meet the team behind the EFFECT Photonics & Aston University partnership to bring greater bandwidth to a greener future

The optical transceiver market is expected to double in size by 2025, and coherent optical…

The optical transceiver market is expected to double in size by 2025, and coherent optical technology has come a long way over the past decade to become more accessible and thus have a greater impact on this market. When Nortel (later Ciena) introduced the first commercial coherent transponder in 2008, the device was a bulky, expensive line card with discrete components distributed on multiple circuit boards.

Recently, EFFECT Photonics and Aston University announced that they would collaborate as part of the newly formed Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Highly Integrated Coherent Optical Fibre Communications.

To learn more about this industry/academic partnership, we interviewed the three lead researchers in this project: Prof. Wladek Forysiak, Dr. Ian Phillips, and Dr. Stylianos Sygletos.

Tell us a little more about yourself and the team

Wladek: My background goes back almost to the start of the Aston Institute of Photonics Technology (AIPT). AIPT was formed by a couple of guys who came out of British Telecom and what was then part of the GEC Telecom Company. The institute has deep industrial roots, and hence the people who work at AIPT often like to participate in projects close to the industry with relatively short timescales. I joined the institute as a post-doc and then subsequently became an academic staff member.

Around 2000, I left alongside five others for a “virtual startup” with the Marconi company, and we formed an entity called Marconi Solstis. At that time, we developed a record-breaking terrestrial ultra long haul system, and we installed our first system in Australia, linking the cities of Perth and Adelaide. Marconi then morphed into Ericsson, and I stayed there for another six to seven years.

In 2010, I moved to Oclaro (now Lumentum), which does somewhat similar technology to what’s being developed by EFFECT Photonics on their integrated indium phosphide platform. I spent three or four years there before returning to academic life at Aston. As for the team, we have funding for three full-time Ph.D. students we’re currently working to recruit. They will be the cement, the foundation of our project.

Ian: I’m of a similar background to Wladek. My expertise is in transceivers, especially characterization and design. I completed my Ph.D. at Aston in 1997 in optical signal processing. British Telecom (BT) sponsored the project, and I worked there for a year after my Ph.D. Corning subsequently purchased the BT Photonics Lab in 2000, and I stayed there for another year. Afterward, I moved to Marconi Solstis with Wladek and stayed there until 2010, when Ericsson closed the site. I then worked in Italy for two years, transferring some system knowledge to the Ericsson research group there, and finally, I joined Aston in 2012.

Stylianos: I completed my Ph.D. at the National Technical University of Athens in 2006, focusing on the physical layer modeling of optical communication systems. I worked for a year at Athens Information Technology (i.e., a research center of Intracom, the largest telecom system provider in Greece). Between 2007 and 2009, I moved for a post-doc position in the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, working with Juerg Leuthold to model quantum-dot semiconductor optical amplifiers.

I then moved to the Tyndall National Institute in Ireland in 2009 to join the group of Andrew Ellis. I focused on the design and experimental implementation of phase-sensitive amplifiers and optical phase-locking solutions for these amplifiers.

After 2012, I joined AIPT as a research fellow, where my research interests eventually changed to digital signal processing and machine learning. I want to apply machine learning to the physical layer of optical communication systems. I’m now the director of two Master’s programs at Aston: the Smart Telecom and Sensing Networks (SMARTNET) and the Erasmus Mundus Photonic Integration and Networks (PIXNET), in collaboration with different universities in Europe and Japan.

What attracted you to collaborate with EFFECT Photonics?

Wladek: This project came about through a conversation between James (EFFECT Photonics’ CEO) and myself where he said, “Well, I’m interested in growing research activities to enhance our systems capability, and I have confidence in the experience of you and the Aston team”. So I said to him that one way to build a long-term relationship between a company and a university is through Ph.D. studentships.

AIPT is very much about doing applied research, and James was very much about the value of user-directed research that is close to the market and based on real-world situations. So he and I shared that vision around the partnership.

Another reason was, of course, that EFFECT Photonics has technology complementary to ours. EFFECT can be a source of advanced technology for us to build the best experiments that compete with the best in the world. Our competition is in the advanced labs of Japan, the US, and other areas in Europe, and having access to great components is key to matching their capabilities.

We also found attractive the ambition and drive of a startup company and its ability to make quick decisions. When I reached out to James with ideas, I could get an immediate yes or no answer, often on the call, for authorization.

Ian: James explained to us really well what EFFECT Photonics was doing, its ambitions, and how it aligned with our work. When we visited the facility in Brixham and were shown around the labs, it was all indicative of a company that wanted to get things done quickly, and hopefully, we can help them in that process.

Stylianos: On top of what Wladek already mentioned, it’s great to work with a startup that is more open to testing new technologies. I’m passionate about machine learning, and the prospect of applying machine learning algorithms to EFFECT Photonics’ novel technology platform is very exciting. I feel like there is an opportunity to make a big impact.

In what ways do the facilities of Aston University complement what EFFECT Photonics has?

Wladek: EFFECT Photonics develops advanced components that interest people like us working on optical communication systems and networks. We’re used to thinking about integrating these advanced components into our systems and getting the maximum capacity from point A to B.

We have a history of 30 years with optical fiber transmission, so we have all the necessary facilities for system modeling and testing. Stelios also brings to the party his expertise in DSP software, which is also critical to what EFFECT Photonics may do in the future.

Ian: We also see our job as training the Ph.D. students to pass on our knowledge of system design and how that reflects in EFFECT Photonics’ transceiver design. We want to train the students and get them to creatively and effectively use the components.

Stylianos: It depends on how the project goes, but we can even develop device models of EFFECT Photonics units and identify the device parameters that can meet network and system-level targets. We can even combine it with machine learning for extra optimization of those parameters.

What are some of the main challenges you hope to address?

Wladek: Looking for a greener future is a big challenge in optical comms. We’ve all witnessed it in the last couple of years with the pandemic. We need greater network capacity but also cheaper and greener. We cannot let that demand for capacity just be the same old technology since power consumption would go up and up and up.

The challenges are similar to what they’ve always been, in a way, but even more acute. And we need to do it all without really spending more money. Nobody wants to pay more for their comms at the end of the day.

We should also go in other directions to increase the capacity. For example, EFFECT Photonics’ current components are made for the optical C-band, but people in long-haul and other areas are looking at creating multiband components that can also operate in the L-band. We’ve also got projects currently looking at the S-band and shorter wavelengths. Researchers are also looking at different fibre structures to carry more and more signals.

At the same time, there’s an industry drive never to pay for more. Ultimately, that mindset has driven even more technical innovation. Capacity has gone up, but the price has gone down. It’s a relentless game, and everyone keeps saying there’s going to be a point at which we don’t need any more capacity, but if it’s there, we always find ways of using it.

Ian: One key challenge many companies are working on is increasing the baud rate, which is quite a technical problem. If you increase the baud rate, you increase the channel capacity too. It was stuck at around 28 GBaud for a long time, and now it’s going up 64 and even 100 GBaud.

Stylianos: I want to mention how important is network optimization to improve performance and reduce power consumption, which would lead to greener networks.

Network operators need to maintain large performance margins to secure a robust operation in different network conditions. In practice, however, these margins mean more power consumption. Ideally, you would like to reduce those margins by a more efficient design of your system and performance that can adapt to the different conditions. We can achieve these goals through machine learning.

This requires solutions for multi-objective optimization. For example, we are not just interested in designing the transmitter subsystem, but we want to see how transmitter performance is connected to network-level performance, as measured by throughput and power consumption. This is a complex problem that involves different layers of the system.

Takeaways

Moving towards a higher-capacity and greener future requires strong collaboration between academic and industrial partners with shared goals. EFFECT Photonics and Aston University share a vision around this greener future and the value of applied research.

This joint project will unite EFFECT Photonics’ component development expertise with Aston’s expertise in optical fiber transmission modeling, testing, and network optimization through machine learning. This union can enable faster, more affordable, and sustainable coherent products that give greater bandwidth to a greener future.

As Wladek mentioned in the interview, this joint project is looking for three PhD students to drive it forward, with the positions available to start in March, July, or October 2022. If you are interested in applying or know someone who might be interested, please visit the following link: https://jobs.aston.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?ref=R210549 .

Tags: Aston University, bandwidth, coherent, coherent optics, CoherentPIC, digital signal processing, DWDM, Green Energy, optical network, photonic integration, Photonics, programmable optical system-on-chip, Royal Academy of Engineers, sustainability telecommunication energy efficency, Sustainable

Insights

November 26, 2021

How to Increase Bandwidth Density in Photonics

In the past, optical transceivers were too bulky, too expensive, and not efficient enough, so…

In the past, optical transceivers were too bulky, too expensive, and not efficient enough, so they could only be used for long-haul telecom networks or data centers with massive bandwidth requirements. Electronic and photonic integration broke this paradigm, miniaturizing optical transceivers to the size of a large USB stick and reducing their cost. Through these advances, optical component manufacturers could pack exponentially more bandwidth into a smaller transceiver area within the last decade. Thanks to this exponential progress, component manufacturers managed to keep up with the exponentially-growing worldwide demand for data.

*Figure 1: Exponential growth of bandwidth density over time through the evolution of types of transceiver module standards.*

However, the next wave of innovative network services—autonomous vehicles, the Internet of Things, Industry 4.0—demands even more bandwidth and other requirements. Optical links that connect 5G controller units to the rest of the network must upscale from 10G to 100G. The links from metro networks to datacenters must upscale from 100G to 400G or 800G, and the links within datacenters must operate at Terabit speeds. These services require not only more bandwidth but also lower latencies and more reliability. Further electronic integration cannot keep up by itself; photonic integration must also continue pushing the envelope on bandwidth density.

In our previous articles and videos, we have already discussed one way to increase the bandwidth density through coherent transmission. Coherent technology can pack more bits into a laser signal because it encodes data in the laser light’s amplitude, phase, and polarization. The use of digital signal processing in these devices improves the reach and bandwidth of the signal even further. Coherent transmission allows network operators to reach higher bandwidths without upgrading their existing optical fiber infrastructure. Conserving and reusing existing fiber infrastructure is also a sustainability measure because it avoids spending additional energy and resources on manufacturing more fiber and laying it down on the roads.

However, another way to improve the bandwidth density is by moving to full photonic integration. Let’s use an analogy from electronics to explain what this means.

*Figure 2: Example of integrating a laser to other photonic components through different integration approaches.*

Before 2020, Apple made its computer processors with discrete components. In other words, electronic components were manufactured on separate chips, and then these chips were assembled into a single package. However, the interconnections between the different chips produced losses and incompatibilities that made the device less efficient. After 2020, starting with Apple’s M1 processor, they now fully integrate all components on a single chip, making the device more energy efficient and reducing its footprint.

Full photonic integration achieves something similar to Apple’s approach, but with optical components instead of electronic components. By integrating all optical elements required for optical transmission (lasers, detectors, modulators, etc.) into a single System-on-Chip (SoC), we can minimize the losses and reduce the chip’s footprint, transmitting more bits over the same chip area. Furthermore, as we discussed in a previous article, a fully integrated system-on-chip reduces materials wastage while at the same time ensuring increased energy efficiency of the manufacturing, packaging, and testing process.

Coherent transmission and full photonic integration approaches must synergize to achieve the highest possible bandwidth density. For example, EFFECT Photonics taped out a fully-integrated coherent optical System-on-Chip (SoC) last year. This device can push hundreds of Gigabits per second within a chip that fits inside your fingertip, and we want to turn this breakthrough into a world-class coherent product. We believe it is the next step in packing exponentially more data into optical chips, allowing the world to keep up with the exponential increase in data for years to come.

In the coming weeks, we will discuss more photonic integration and how to implement it in larger volumes to make coherent transmission more widespread around the world.

Tags: bandwidth, coherent, coherent optics, Density, fiber networks, increase bandwidth density, Integrated Photonics, LightCounting, network operators, optical transceivers, photonic integration, Photonics, pluggables, Transceivers

Press Releases

October 8, 2021

EFFECT Photonics partners with Aston University to bring greater bandwidth to a greener future

EFFECT Photonics would like to congratulate Professor Wladek Forysiak from Aston University on his recently…

EFFECT Photonics would like to congratulate Professor Wladek Forysiak from Aston University on his recently announced appointment as the Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Highly Integrated Coherent optical fibre Communications.

In this joint industry/academia research partnership, the HICC project will leverage the System-on-Chip technology and expertise in high density photonic integration and manufacturing from EFFECT Photonics. The Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) system design, performance testing and digital signal processing capabilities from Aston University will help further push the boundaries to broker a new era of short-distance optical networking based on “digital coherent” techniques. The aim is to identify and enable new network applications that will take coherent optics into new spaces. By further reducing the cost and power requirements of these components, sub-systems, and systems, this project will contribute to a more sustainable and greener future by providing greater bandwidth to everyone.

“EFFECT Photonics has the unique technology to build a fully integrated coherent optical system on a chip, with world leading energy efficiency that enables high performance in a small module. Prof. Forysiak embodies a distinctive combination of cutting-edge optical systems academic research with extensive industrial sector experience at Marconi, Ericsson and Oclaro, and is embedded within Aston University, one of Europe’s leading universities for optical transmission research. The Royal Academy of Engineering funding and expertise brings these elements together. With this partnership we can build a powerhouse that will push the envelope of very high bandwidth internet close to the user for the benefit of all society. I am very excited about this collaboration!” – James Regan, CEO.

“I am delighted to be supported by The Royal Academy of Engineering, EFFECT Photonics, and Aston University to work on the HICC project, together with my close colleagues, Dr Ian Phillips and Dr Stelios Sygletos. The complimentary expertise of EFFECT Photonics in highly integrated System-on-Chip photonics technology and Aston’s long experience in WDM systems R&D provides an ideal platform for this industry/academia research partnership. Together, we have a compelling vision, and I am particularly delighted by the prospect of collaborating with the innovators at EFFECT Photonics, and experiencing the energy, drive and ambition of its start-up working culture.” – Prof. Wladek Forysiak.

EFFECT Photonics’ programmable System-on-Chip technology lies at the heart of its developments in coherent optics. The aim is to provide products that offer line card performance and functions in a pluggable form factor with a very high energy efficiency. This means that performance that has historically been big and expensive, will be pushed to the edges of the network including the encryption and data security you would normally expect to find in a line card. In addition, by lowering the cost and energy consumption per bit, the next generation EFFECT Photonics solutions will enable a more sustainable and greener optical network.

About EFFECT Photonics

EFFECT Photonics delivers highly integrated optical communications products based on its Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) optical System-on-Chip technology. The key enabling technology for DWDM systems is full monolithic integration of all photonic components within a single chip and being able to produce these in volume with high yield at low cost. With this capability, EFFECT Photonics is addressing the need for low cost DWDM solutions driven by the soaring demand for high bandwidth connections between datacentres and back from mobile cell towers. Headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, with additional R&D, manufacturing in South West UK and a facility opening soon in the US, with sales partners worldwide.

http://www.effectphotonics.com
Press contact: press@effectphotonics.com

Telecom/Datacom

Emerging Industries

DSP & FEC

Ultra Pure Light Sources

Ecosystems

Pluggable Modules – Direct Detect

Pluggable Modules – Coherent

Sub-Assemblies

ASICs

View All

Insights

Press Releases

In the News

Events

Careers

Knowledge Center

Company Info

Contact Us

Telecom/Datacom

Emerging Industries

DSP & FEC

Ultra Pure Light Sources

Ecosystems

Pluggable Modules – Direct Detect

Pluggable Modules – Coherent

Sub-Assemblies

ASICs

View All

Insights

Press Releases

In the News

Events

Careers

Knowledge Center

Company Info

Contact Us