Optical Data Communication Research Articles

Bridging the"Last Millimeter" Gap of Brain-Machine Interfaces via Near-Infrared Wireless Power Transfer and Data Communications.

Arrays of floating neural sensors with high channel count that cover an area of square centimeters and larger would be transformative for neural engineering and brain-machine interfaces. Meeting the power and wireless data communications requirements within the size constraints for each neural sensor has been elusive due to the need to incorporate sensing, computing, communications, and power functionality in a package of approximately 100 micrometers on a side. In this work, we demonstrate a near infrared optical power and data communication link for a neural recording system that satisfies size requirements to achieve dense arrays and power requirements to prevent tissue heating. The optical link is demonstrated using an integrated optoelectronic device consisting of a tandem photovoltaic cell and microscale light emitting diode. End-to-end functionality of a wireless neural link within system constraints is demonstrated using a pre-recorded neural signal between a self-powered CMOS integrated circuit and single photon avalanche photodiode.

Optical Fiber Delivered Ultrafast Plasmonic Optical Switch.

Ultrafast optical switch based on plasmonic nanostructures has large application potentials in optical logic circuits and optical communication systems. Integration of plasmonic optical switching devices with optical fibers is a breakthrough for realizing practical applications in long‐range optical data transmission or communication techniques. Here, the incorporation of plasmonic optical switch devices onto the end facets of optical fibers is reported, so that the switched optical signals are generated by interaction between femtosecond laser pulses and plasmonic nanostructures on one end of the fiber, and are delivered via the fiber waveguide to the other end for detection or decoding. “Quenching” of localized surface plasmon in the gold nanowires by its interaction with band‐edge modulation in gold through strong optical excitation is the responsible photophysics. This work accomplishes for the first time the implementation of ultrafast plasmonic optical switch device on optical fiber tips for logic data transmission.

Compensating Dynamic Nonlinearities in LED Photon Emission to Enhance Optical Wireless Communication

LEDs can be modulated to support wireless optical data communication. However, particularly LEDs optimized for illumination act as a non-linear low-pass communication channel. In this paper, we translate the non-linear differential equations for the hole-electron recombination and photon emissions, into a discrete-time model with delay taps and non-linear coefficients. This LED model can be inverted, to actively eliminate or mitigate the non-linear dynamic LED distortion. We propose a further simplification of the compensation circuit that allows us to use a relatively simple structure with only a couple of parameters. We experimentally characterize and measure signals communicated via commercially available illumination LEDs that are also used for LiFi communication. In an Intensity Modulation Direct Detection (IM/DD) system employing Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM), we show that the proposed equalizer can effectively widen the measured eye diagram, thereby reduce the error rate or can allow a larger constellation. For Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), the reduction in distortion allows at least a 50% increase in bit rate, even on measured noisy channels. This confirms the suitability of the LED model on which our non-linear equalizer is based. We show how non-linear time-constants can be estimated from electrical measurements on the LED signal. With the proposed parameter estimation, the equalizer converges to appropriate compensation settings, in Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) sense.

Carrier depletion type PIN phase shifter in silicon MZM for 200 Gbps operation

Silicon-based photonic modulators are a primary choice for on-chip optical devices with CMOS fabrication compatibility. The phase shifter in a silicon photonics modulator plays a significant role in determining the efficiency of the modulator to meet the optical data communication's future demands. Obtaining high extinction ratio (ER) and with acceptable bit error rate (BER) at low voltage and low loss was kept as the primary objective for the proposed PIN phase shifter in an unbalanced silicon Mach-Zehnder modulator. The phase shifter length was kept at 2 mm, and the carrier doping region was reduced to decrease the carrier absorption loss. The concentration of P and N in the phase shifter was set to 7 × 1017 cm−3 and 5 × 1017 cm−3, and the intrinsic gap was varied (50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350 and 450 nm) for the study to obtain the optimum gap to meet the objective. For 200 Gbps, the proposed modulator with intrinsic gap 150 nm obtained 18.68 dB ER having VπL = 0.8 V.cm. Insertion loss obtained for the phase shifter was 3.421 dB/cm. The proposed design is expected to enhance the performance of silicon optical modulators for commercial applications, and also other applications such as optical switches, delay lines, and optical interconnect.

Design and Evaluation of Visible Light Wireless Data Communication Models

The technologies based on the radio frequency used for wireless transmission indoor are more congested than ever these days, therefore several wireless communication alternatives are intensively searched. Some most promising technologies are based on the optical part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The benefits and drawbacks in optical wireless data communication models design are presented in this work. The key characteristics of the VLC systems are briefly discussed, as well. Some models developed for wireless data transfer in visible light communication and infrared are presented, and their operation related to the data rate and the length of the optical link, are briefly compared.

Quantum dot mode-locked frequency comb with ultra-stable 25.5 GHz spacing between 20°C and 120°C

Semiconductor mode-locked lasers (MLLs) are promising frequency comb sources for dense wavelength-division-multiplexing (DWDM) data communications. Practical data communication requires a frequency-stable comb source in a temperature-varying environment and a minimum tone spacing of 25 GHz to support high-speed DWDM transmissions. To the best of our knowledge, however, to date, there have been no demonstrations of comb sources that simultaneously offer a high repetition rate and stable mode spacing over an ultrawide temperature range. Here, we report a frequency comb source based on a quantum dot (QD) MLL that generates a frequency comb with stable mode spacing over an ultrabroad temperature range of 20–120°C. The two-section passively mode-locked InAs QD MLL comb source produces an ultra-stable fundamental repetition rate of 25.5 GHz (corresponding to a 25.5 GHz spacing between adjacent tones in the frequency domain) with a variation of 0.07 GHz in the tone spacing over the tested temperature range. By keeping the saturable absorber reversely biased at − 2 V , stable mode-locking over the whole temperature range can be achieved by tuning the current of the gain section only, providing easy control of the device. At an elevated temperature of 100°C, the device shows a 6 dB comb bandwidth of 4.81 nm and 31 tones with > 36 dB optical signal-to-noise ratio. The corresponding relative intensity noise, averaged between 0.5 GHz and 10 GHz, is − 146 dBc / Hz . Our results show the viability of the InAs QD MLLs as ultra-stable, uncooled frequency comb sources for low-cost, large-bandwidth, and low-energy-consumption optical data communications.

Multi-Gigabit Transceivers for Optical Data Communications From the Standardization Perspective

This brief is conceived to present prime line R&D advances in Multi-Gigabit Optoelectronics Communications. In order to allow all these communication systems to be compatible between them and interoperable, it is mandatory that they are developed following a common standard. Ethernet is one of the most well-known and flexible standards for complex systems. To this end, IEEE has developed many different standards for optical data communications. In case of the automotive industry, specific standards are developed in order to accomplish the stringent requirements of the working environment. This tutorial gives a review of the actual standardization processes of the optical communication systems, with special emphasis on the automotive industry. As a complement, it groups some of the most significant circuit design contributions to the State-of-the-Art in the recent years that allow implementing the optical transceivers compatible with the latest standards.

Commercially available granulates PMMA and PS - potential problems with the production of polymer optical fibers

The aim of the study was to verify the usefulness of commercially available granulates of PMMA (poly (methyl methacrylate) and PS (polystyrene) for the production of polymer optical fibers by extrusion method. Samples were subjected to thermal processing in various conditions (different temperatures and exposure time). Thermal (TG/DTG) and spectroscopic (ATR/FT-IR) analyses were carried out to analyze changes in the samples. Based on FT-IR analysis of liquid monomers and granulates the conversion of double bonds was calculated, which gave us a picture of the degree of monomers conversion, crucial information from the technological point of view. Full Text: PDF ReferencesO. Ziemann, J. Krauser, P.E. Zamzow, W. Daum, POF Polymer Optical Fibersfor Data Communication (Berlin: Springer 2008). DirectLink P. Stajanca et al. "Solution-mediated cladding doping of commercial polymer optical fibers", Opt. Fiber Technol. 41, 227-234, (2018). CrossRef K. Peters, "Polymer optical fiber sensors—a review", Smart Mater. Struct., 20 013002 (2011) CrossRef J. Zubia and J. Arrue, "Plastic Optical Fibers: An Introduction to Their Technological Processes and Applications", Opt. Fiber Technol. 7 ,101-40 (2001) CrossRef M. Beckers, T. Schlüter, T. Gries, G. Seide, C.-A. Bunge, "6 - Fabrication techniques for polymer optical fibres", Polymer Optical Fibres, 187-199 (2017) CrossRef M. Niedźwiedź , M. Gil, M. Gargol , W. Podkościelny, P. Mergo, "Determination of the optimal extrusion temperature of the PMMA optical fibers", Phot. Lett. Poland 11, 7-9 (2019) CrossRef

Efficient adjustable light couplers of integrated III-V nanowire emitters on silicon waveguides based on ring resonators.

The development of integrated vertical III-V nanowire (NW) stimulated emitters in silicon photonics while achieving an efficient light coupling through vertical III-V NW lasers into horizontal optical silicon waveguides is demanding. This is mainly due to the directionality and contradiction of the simultaneously satisfied low threshold stimulated emission conditions of the vertical NWs and efficient light coupling from the NW emitters into the horizontal silicon waveguide. However, we propose a new, to the best of our knowledge, design by taking advantage of resonating features of ring structures and theoretically demonstrate that an interfacial ring resonator between GaAs NW emitters and the silicon waveguide achieves a coupling efficiency up to about 70% at a given wavelength. We also show that the interfacial resonator enables us to adjust the coupling efficiency from about 10% to over 70%. The adjustable coupling efficiency might also be a solution to compromise between the low threshold stimulated emission of NWs and efficient light coupling for realizing efficient silicon couplers based on integrated III-V NW lasers in silicon photonics. Besides the simple fabrication process compared to counterparts, we believe that the novel structure is promising for future optical on-chip data communication in silicon photonics, and the results are expandable to varying wavelengths and materials.

Designing the phase and amplitude of scalar optical fields in three dimensions.

The ability to generate any arbitrarily chosen optical field in a three-dimensional (3D) space, in the absence of any sources, without modifying the index of refraction, remains an elusive but much-desired capability with applications in various fields such as optical micromanipulation, imaging, and data communications, to name a few. In this work, we show analytically that it is possible to generate any desired scalar optical field with predefined amplitude and phase in 3D space, where the generated field is an exact duplicate of the desired field in case it is a solution of Helmholtz wave equation, or if the existence of such field is strictly forbidden, the generated field is the closest possible rendition of the desired field in amplitude and phase. The developed analytical approach is further supported via experimental demonstration of optical beams with exotic trajectories and can have a significant impact on the aforementioned application areas.

Printing polarization and phase at the optical diffraction limit: near- and far-field optical encryption

AbstractSecuring optical information to avoid counterfeiting and manipulation by unauthorized persons and agencies requires innovation and enhancement of security beyond basic intensity encryption. In this paper, we present a new method for polarization-dependent optical encryption that relies on extremely high-resolution near-field phase encoding at metasurfaces, down to the diffraction limit. Unlike previous intensity or color printing methods, which are detectable by the human eye, analog phase decoding requires specific decryption setup to achieve a higher security level. In this work, quadriwave lateral shearing interferometry is used as a phase decryption method, decrypting binary quick response (QR) phase codes and thus forming phase-contrast images, with phase values as low as 15°. Combining near-field phase imaging and far-field holographic imaging under orthogonal polarization illumination, we enhanced the security level for potential applications in the area of biometric recognition, secure ID cards, secure optical data storage, steganography, and communications.

Design optimization of orbital angular momentum fibers using the gray wolf optimizer.

Optical data communication based on the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light is a recently proposed method to enhance the transmission capacity of optical fibers. This requires a new type of optical fiber, the main part of the optical communication system, to be designed. Typically, these fibers have a ring-shaped refractive index profile. We aim to find an optimized cross section refractive index profile for an OAM fiber in which the number of supported OAM modes (channels), mode purity, and the effective refractive index separation of OAM modes to other fibers modes are maximized. However, the complexity of the relationship between structural parameters and optical transmission properties of these fibers has resulted in the lack of a comprehensive analytical method to design them. In this paper, we investigate the process of designing OAM fibers and propose a framework to design such fibers by using artificial intelligence optimizers. It is worth mentioning here that this problem is intrinsically a multiobjective optimization problem, and the actual solution for such problems is not unique and leads to a set of optimum solutions. Therefore, at the end of the optimization process, a wide range of optimal designs will be obtained in which a trade-off is established in each of the solutions. We solve this problem with the multiobjective gray wolf optimizer (GWO) and compare the results with that of the single-objective GWO. The framework can easily find many optimal designs that support more than 20 OAM modes. The obtained results show that the proposed method is comprehensive and can optimize the structure of any OAM fibers. No human involvement, simplicity, and being straightforward are the main advantages of the proposed framework.

Hermetic fusion of diamond micro-components with silicon

Implantable devices which interact with neuronal systems and last for the lifetime of the recipient are an emerging field in medical research, diagnostics and therapeutics. These devices often contain sensitive micro-electronics ranging from passive radio-frequency identification tags to active sensors and stimulators. Therefore, such devices require robust and biocompatible packaging. There is a strong desire to reduce the size of such devices, enable wireless communication methods and protect these devices in the body for many decades. Diamond is a biopermanent material that provides the chemical inertness and mechanical stability to ensure long operational life of implanted devices and can also exhibit excellent optical and radiofrequency transparency. For some applications, the transparency of diamond is used to enable optical power and data communication with the encapsulated electronics. The final assembly of the device often requires the joining of diamond to diamond, and such joints are challenging to fabricate. Here we describe a new method of hermetically fusing diamond to diamond using a thin silicon interlayer as a braze material. The strong bond forms due to SiC formation at the interface of the materials. A 3.5 × 3.5 × 0.3 mm diamond box was formed from a thermal grade diamond base with a thin, transparent diamond lid. We show by helium leak detection and non-destructive optical methods, that the package is hermetically sealed to better than 2.2 × 10−9 cm3 atm/s of helium. The method is an industrially relevant route to forming long lived implantable diamond packages, in particular the incorporation of transparent diamond windows into the package to enable for optical power and data communication.

Electrically-driven Yagi-Uda antennas for light

Yagi-Uda antennas are a key technology for efficiently transmitting information from point to point using radio waves. Since higher frequencies allow higher bandwidths and smaller footprints, a strong incentive exists to shrink Yagi-Uda antennas down to the optical regime. Here we demonstrate electrically-driven Yagi-Uda antennas for light with wavelength-scale footprints that exhibit large directionalities with forward-to-backward ratios of up to 9.1 dB. Light generation is achieved via antenna-enhanced inelastic tunneling of electrons over the antenna feed gap. We obtain reproducible tunnel gaps by means of feedback-controlled dielectrophoresis, which precisely places single surface-passivated gold nanoparticles in the antenna gap. The resulting antennas perform equivalent to radio-frequency antennas and combined with waveguiding layers even outperform RF designs. This work paves the way for optical on-chip data communication that is not restricted by Joule heating but also for advanced light management in nanoscale sensing and metrology as well as light emitting devices.

Experimental demonstration of free-space multi-state orbital angular momentum shift keying.

Orbital angular momentum (OAM), a new dimension of photons, has potentials in lots of domains as high-dimensional data coding/decoding. Here we experimentally demonstrate a free-space data transmission system based on 8 bits multi-state OAM shift keying, where multiplexed optical vortices containing 8 various OAM states are employed to constitute 8 bits binary symbols. In the transmitter, the data coding of OAM shift keying is realized by switching a series of special-designed holograms. And in the receiver, the decoding is done by a single Dammann vortex grating along with image processing. We experimentally transmit data, including a gray-scale image, in free-space for 10 meters, showing zero bit-error-rate. The demonstrated results indicate a wide prospect for the future high-dimensional large data rate optical security communications.

Near-Field-Focusing Integrated Optical Phased Arrays

Integrated optical phased arrays that focus radiated light to a tightly-confined spot in the near field are demonstrated for the first time. The element phase distributions necessary for generating and steering focused beams using phased arrays are developed. Discussion and simulations detailing the effects of the array aperture and focal length on the focal spot are included. Two focusing phased array architectures are presented: (1) a one-dimensional splitter-tree-based architecture with novel focusing antennas and inline phase bumps and (2) a two-dimensional large-scale pixel-based architecture. Both architectures are used to experimentally demonstrate a variety of aperture size and focal length passive focusing arrays in a CMOS-compatible platform, including (i) a 512-antenna splitter-tree-based array with a wavelength-steerable 7 µm spot at a 5 mm focal length, (ii) a 1024-antenna pixel-based array with a 21 µm spot at a 5 mm focal length, and (iii) a 10,000-antenna pixel-based array with a 21 µm spot at a 10 mm focal length. The demonstrated focusing phased arrays present a new functional modality compared to standard optical phased arrays that generate diffracting beams in the far field of the array. This new focusing modality has the potential to advance a number of important application areas at the cutting edge of lightwave technology, as it will enable future integrated optical phased array implementations for a wide range of applications that require focusing operation. Such areas include optical trapping for biological characterization, laser-based three-dimensional printing, short-range light detection and ranging, and short-range optical data communications.

Data Analysis and Validation of Acquired Temperature Data on Underwater Platform

<p class="western" style="margin-left: -2.25cm; margin-bottom: 0.35cm; line-height: 115%;">Underwater missiles are launched from canister by hot gasses produced by a gas generator. Hot gasses eject the missile out of canister, positioned on an underwater platform in high seas at a depth of 50 m to 70 m. During development phase of submarine launched missile, maximum number of physical parameters related to platform and launching mechanism are acquired on a data acquisition system on-board platform and selected critical parameters are transmitted to control station in real time through an optical data communication link. Missile parameters are recorded on-board and transmitted to the control station by delayed transmission technique once the missile is out of water. Exit velocity of missile is very important parameter for the missile trajectory and range, which depends upon the heat loss in canister and annular gap pressure between missile and canister during the ejection process. Prediction of exit velocity is validated by heat loss calculation by measured temperature at different stations during the test. Temperature measurement is carried out by sensors mounted on the inner wall of canister and also by jumping type of temperature sensor, which measures canister gas temperature. In spite of all efforts, few sensors do not work as expected. It is important to measure various parameters according to instrumentation measurement plan. In case of temperature measurement, sometimes, it is required to predict temperature at location, where sensor was originally not mounted. To validate the recorded test data, another set of data is needed for which one has to wait till next test is conducted that may take years and practically impossible to ensure identical test setup and environmental condition. A mathematical approach to predict temperature at required location and to validate the recorded test data is presented.</p><p class="western" style="margin-left: -2.25cm; margin-bottom: 0.35cm; line-height: 115%;"> </p><p class="western" style="margin-left: -2.25cm; margin-bottom: 0.35cm; line-height: 115%;"> </p>

20 GHz actively mode-locked thulium fiber laser.

A high repetition-rate actively mode-locked thulium fiber laser is demonstrated where an electro-optic lithium niobate phase modulator is used to synchronize the longitudinal modes in the cavity. The repetition rate of the actively mode-locked laser is tunable from 14.6 MHz to 19 GHz, where the 19 GHz pulses exhibit a super-mode suppression ratio of 46 dB. Furthermore, the output pulse width could be manipulated through finely controlling the detuning frequency or repetition rate. We have also experimentally observed rational harmonic mode-locking in the laser and obtained 14 GHz and 21 GHz repetition rate pulses using a 7 GHz modulating signal. To the best of our knowledge, we have improved the repetition-rate of actively mode-locked thulium fiber laser by more than one order of magnitude. Such a high repetition source can be readily synchronized to a master clock, which makes it very suitable for high speed optical data processing, communication and remote sensing.

100-Gb/s Electro-Absorptive Duobinary Modulation of an InP-on-Si DFB Laser

100-Gb/s single-channel optical data communication transceivers can provide a compact and cost-effective solution for the exponentially growing data-center traffic. One of the enabling technologies is electro-absorption-modulated single-mode lasers which are very compact, efficient, and fast. In this letter, such a transmitter integrated on a silicon photonics platform is demonstrated. While low loss and high contrast waveguides are provided by Si photonics, the gain and efficient electro-absorption are provided by the InP-based multi-quantum-well structure. A lumped electro-absorption modulator integrated with a distributed feedback laser is designed and fabricated in this platform. The epitaxial stack is identical for the laser and the modulator, which eases the fabrication process considerably. In this way, we successfully demonstrate 100-Gb/s single-channel electrical duobinary optical data transport over ~100 m of fiber with a bit error rate of 1.6e-3.

Fast MoTe2 Waveguide Photodetector with High Sensitivity at Telecommunication Wavelengths

Two-dimensional (2D) materials integrated with planar photonic elements enable a new class of electro-optical components and hold much promise for a novel 2D material integrated circuit technology. Here, we present a few-layer MoTe2 waveguide photodetector that is operable across the entire O-band of the near-infrared optical telecommunication spectral range. The device is realized in a two-terminal in-plane electrode configuration without applying external gating. It features a competitive photoresponsivity of 23 mA/W as well as a low dark current, both of which lead to a highly sensitive photodetection with a large dynamic range. Moreover, the design of the photodetector exhibits a fast photoresponse with a bandwidth approaching 1 GHz, outperforming prior TMDC-based photodetectors. Optical data experiments proved the operation of our device at data rates of 1 Gbit/s, revealing the applicability of integrating 2D materials for practical optical data communication applications.