A Neuromorphic Silicon Photonics Nonlinear Equalizer For Optical Communications With Intensity Modulation and Direct Detection
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Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Lightwave Technology
Abstract
We present the design and numerical study of a nonlinear
equalizer for optical communications based on silicon photonics
and reservoir computing. The proposed equalizer leverages
the optical information processing capabilities of integrated photonic
reservoirs to combat distortions both in metro links of a
few hundred kilometers and in high-speed short-reach intensitymodulation-
direct-detection links. We show nonlinear compensation
in unrepeated metro links of up to 200 km that outperform
electrical feedforward equalizers based equalizers, and ultimately
any linear compensation device. For a high-speed short-reach 40-
Gb/s link based on a distributed feedback laser and an electroabsorptive
modulator, and considering a hard decision forward error
correction limit of 0.2 × 10−2 ,we can increase the reach by almost
10 km. Our equalizer is compact (only 16 nodes) and operates in the
optical domainwithout the need for complex electronicDSP,meaning
its performance is not bandwidth constrained. The approach
is, therefore, a viable candidate even for equalization techniques
far beyond 100G optical communication links.
Description
Keywords
Neuromorphic computing, Nonlinear equalization, Reservoir computing, Silicon photonics
Citation
Katumba, A., Yin, X., Dambre, J., & Bienstman, P. (2019). A neuromorphic silicon photonics nonlinear equalizer for optical communications with intensity modulation and direct detection. Journal of Lightwave Technology, 37(10), 2232-2239.