Transparent Optical-THz-Optical Link at 240/192 Gbit/s Over 5/115 m Enabled by Plasmonics

Yannik Horst,Juerg Leuthold,Wolfgang Heni,Claudia Hoessbacher,Maurizio Burla,Larry R Dalton,Yuriy Fedoryshyn,Lewis E Johnson,Marco Eppenberger,Benedikt Baeuerle,Scott R Hammond,Yannick Salamin,Tobias Blatter,Bertold Ian Bitachon,Marcel Destraz,Delwin L Elder,Laurenz Kulmer,Patrick Habegger,Eva De Leo,Stefan M Koepfli

doi:10.1109/jlt.2022.3148534

Abstract

A transparentOptical-subTHz-Optical link providing record-high single line rates of 240 Gbit/s and 192 Gbit/s on a single optical carrier over distances from 5 to 115 m is demonstrated. Besides a direct mapping of the optical to a 230 GHz subTHz-carrier frequency by means of a uni-traveling carrier (UTC) photodiode, we demonstrate direct conversion of data from the subTHz domain back to the optical domain by a plasmonic modulator. It is shown that the subTHz-to-optical upconversion can even be performed at good quality without any electrical amplifiers. Finally, at the receiver, the local oscillator is employed to directly map the optical signal back to the electrical baseband within a coherent receiver.

Highlights

HIGH-DATA-RATE subTHz wireless links can bridge optical links and will play an essential role in generation mobile data networks
We describe the measured properties of the plasmonic modulator itself and investigate the broadband performance of the 5 m (Exp. 1) and 115 m (Exp. 2 and 3) THz wireless transmission link achieved with the plasmonic modulators in the front-end THz receiver
The devices consist of two plasmonic phase shifters that are integrated into an imbalanced Mach-Zehnder Interferometer

Summary

INTRODUCTION

HIGH-DATA-RATE subTHz wireless links can bridge optical links and will play an essential role in generation mobile data networks. At the optical-to-THz converter, the optical data signal is GHz, the free-space losses (FSPL) are 93.7 dB for 5 m and boosted by an erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) and 120.9 dB for 115 m, respectively To compensate for these high coupled to free-running laser detuned by the wireless carrier losses, off-the-shelf horn-antenna-lens configurations are used frequency fTHz ~= 230 GHz. The THz signal is situated in the at the transmitter and receiver side for the 5 m link (see Fig. 130 GHz wide window between 190 and 320 GHz that offers 3(a)).

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

High-Speed Plasmonic Modulator

CONCLUSION