Nonlinear integrated optical resonators for optical fibre data recovery.

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Optical Communications
• Nonlinear Optics

Background:

• Optical fiber communication systems face nonlinear distortions that degrade signal quality.
• Real-time compensation of these distortions is crucial for high-speed data transmission.
• Existing compensation methods may lack the speed or efficiency required for advanced modulation formats.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the use of a reservoir computer based on evanescently coupled GaAs microrings for real-time nonlinear distortion compensation.
• To demonstrate the critical role of fast nonlinear response in all-optical signal recovery.
• To evaluate the system's performance in recovering signals distorted by standard single-mode fiber.

Main Methods:

• Simulated a reservoir computer architecture utilizing evanescently coupled GaAs microrings.
• Applied the system to compensate for nonlinear distortion in a 50 Gbaud 16-QAM signal.
• Tested compensation under varying launch powers (up to 14 dBm) and fiber lengths (20 km).

Main Results:

• Successfully compensated for nonlinear distortion in a 50 Gbaud 16-QAM signal.
• Evidenced the essential role of a fast nonlinear response for real-time, all-optical signal recovery.
• Achieved signal recovery below the forward error correction limit for a 20 km fiber with 12 dBm launch power.

Conclusions:

• Reservoir computers based on GaAs microrings offer a promising solution for real-time nonlinear distortion compensation in optical communications.
• Fast nonlinear response is a key enabler for effective all-optical signal recovery.
• The demonstrated system can mitigate significant linear and nonlinear impairments, improving the feasibility of high-capacity optical networks.