3 research outputs found
Ultrafast optical circuit switching for data centers using integrated soliton microcombs
Networks inside current data centers comprise a hierarchy of power-hungry
electronic packet switches interconnected via optical fibers and transceivers.
As the scaling of such electrically-switched networks approaches a plateau, a
power-efficient solution is to implement a flat network with optical circuit
switching (OCS), without electronic switches and a reduced number of
transceivers due to direct links among servers. One of the promising ways of
implementing OCS is by using tunable lasers and arrayed waveguide grating
routers. Such an OCS-network can offer high bandwidth and low network latency,
and the possibility of photonic integration results in an energy-efficient,
compact, and scalable photonic data center network. To support dynamic data
center workloads efficiently, it is critical to switch between wavelengths in
sub nanoseconds (ns). Here we demonstrate ultrafast photonic circuit switching
based on a microcomb. Using a photonic integrated Si3N4 microcomb in
conjunction with semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs), sub ns (< 500 ps)
switching of more than 20 carriers is achieved. Moreover, the 25-Gbps
non-return to zero (NRZ) and 50-Gbps four-level pulse amplitude modulation
(PAM-4) burst mode transmission systems are shown. Further, on-chip Indium
phosphide (InP) based SOAs and arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) are used to show
sub-ns switching along with 25-Gbps NRZ burst mode transmission providing a
path toward a more scalable and energy-efficient wavelength-switched network
for future data centers.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure