Reconfigurable silicon photonic transceiver for WDM BPSK non-coherent detection

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Optical Communications
• Integrated Circuits

Background:

• Conventional coherent optical communication systems require complex and costly coherent receivers.
• This complexity increases system footprint and energy consumption.
• There is a need for simplified, energy-efficient demodulation techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a simplified silicon photonic transceiver chip for BPSK modulation.
• To enable simultaneous generation and demodulation of WDM signals on a single chip.
• To eliminate the need for complex coherent detection in optical communications.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a silicon photonic transceiver chip integrated with a TFLN electro-optic comb source.
• Employed an on-chip Microring Resonator (MRR) array for direct optical BPSK demodulation.
• Recovered data via waveform acquisition, bypassing traditional coherent detection.

Main Results:

• Successfully demonstrated simultaneous generation and demodulation of 3 × 20 Gbaud BPSK signals on a single chip.
• Achieved a receiver sensitivity of -28 dBm at the 3.8×10^-3 HD-FEC threshold.
• Validated the elimination of coherent detection, improving energy efficiency.

Conclusions:

• The developed silicon photonic transceiver offers a simplified approach for BPSK demodulation.
• Silicon-TFLN heterogeneous integration shows significant potential for compact, single-chip coherent transceivers.
• This technology advances energy-efficient and cost-effective optical communication systems.