Abstract

Passive Optical Networks (PON), able to operate at 50 Gbps per wavelength (λ), are under development and standardization, based on intensity-modulation (IM) and direct-detection (DD) systems. The next step in PON evolution will be driven by 5G/6G fronthauling capacity demands, and will require the development of 100 Gbps/λ (and beyond) systems, which poses big challenges if maintaining the DD-format. In this contribution, we analyze a 100 Gbps/λ PON architecture able to preserve the IM-DD approach at the Optical Network Unit (ONU), placing the complexity at the Optical Line Terminal (OLT), thanks to Digital Signal Processing (DSP). We experimentally demonstrate a 100 Gbps/λ transmission using this architecture in the downstream (DS) direction. Chromatic dispersion digital pre-compensation (CD-DPC) in combination with an IQ Mach-Zehnder Modulator (IQ-MZM) is used at the transmitter (TX). Keeping the ONU DSP as simple as possible, as compared with current DSP proposals for 50 Gbps/λ PON, is another main goal of this work. Adaptive equalization (AEQ) is used to correct for linear impairments, in addition to digital non-linear correction (NLC) at the receiver (RX). We compare two NLC approaches: a full Volterra Non-Linear Equalizer (VNLE) and a simpler NLC technique based on a square-root like function (SQRT). Operation over standard single-mode fiber (SMF) in C-band, achieving reaches from 0 km to 100 km and Optical Path Loss (OPL) values higher than 29 dB, are shown. The analyzed proposal is directly applicable to Terabit-capable wavelength division multiplexing (WDM)-PON, and can be extended to very high-speed Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)-PON and TWDM-PON, with some modifications discussed here.

100 Gbps/λ PON downstream O- and C-band alternatives using direct-detection and linear-impairment equalization [Invited]

Pablo Torres-Ferrera, Haoyi Wang, Valter Ferrero, and Roberto Gaudino
J. Opt. Commun. Netw. 13(2) A111-A123 (2021)

Overview of high-speed TDM-PON beyond 50 Gbps per wavelength using digital signal processing [Invited Tutorial]

Pablo Torres-Ferrera, Frank Effenberger, Md Saifuddin Faruk, Seb J. Savory, and Roberto Gaudino
J. Opt. Commun. Netw. 14(12) 982-996 (2022)

Perspectives on and the road towards 100  Gb/s TDM PON with intensity-modulation and direct-detection

Rene Bonk, Ed Harstead, Robert Borkowski, Vincent Houtsma, Yannick Lefevre, Amitkumar Mahadevan, Dora van Veen, Michiel Verplaetse, and Sheldon Walklin
J. Opt. Commun. Netw. 15(8) 518-526 (2023)

PON transceiver technologies for ≥50 Gbits/s per λ: Alamouti coding and heterodyne detection [Invited]

M. S. Erkılınç, R. Emmerich, K. Habel, V. Jungnickel, C. Schmidt-Langhorst, C. Schubert, and R. Freund
J. Opt. Commun. Netw. 12(2) A162-A170 (2020)

DSP-free single-wavelength 100 Gbps SDM-PON with increased splitting ratio using 10G-class DML

Fangdi Bao, Yunhong Ding, Md Nooruzzaman, Yoshimichi Amma, Yusuke Sasaki, Leif K. Oxenløwe, Hao Hu, and Toshio Morioka
Opt. Express 27(23) 33915-33924 (2019)