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Low-complexity reset-free polarization tracking at 300 krad/s for 480 Gb/s self-homodyne coherent systems using TFLN
Optics Express
|August 14, 2026
Summary
This study introduces a new, low-complexity polarization-tracking method for short-reach self-homodyne coherent (SHC) systems. It offers fast and continuous tracking without resets, reducing hardware needs and power consumption for better interconnect performance.
Area of Science:
- Optical communications engineering
- Photonics and optoelectronics
Background:
- Short-reach self-homodyne coherent (SHC) systems face local oscillator (LO) power fading.
- Existing polarization tracking solutions struggle with high speed and low complexity under hardware constraints.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a low-complexity, reset-free polarization-tracking scheme for SHC systems.
- To address the challenges of speed, complexity, and resource constraints in polarization tracking.
Main Methods:
- Developed a novel scheme using a thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) optical polarization controller (OPC).
- Implemented a reset-free continuous tracking approach.
- Evaluated performance in a 480-Gb/s dual-polarization 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (DP-16QAM) SHC system.
Main Results:
- Achieved a maximum state-of-polarization (SOP) tracking speed of 300 krad/s.
- Significantly reduced computational complexity compared to existing methods.
- Demonstrated performance within the hard-decision forward error correction (HD-FEC) threshold of 3.8 × 10-3.
Conclusions:
- The proposed scheme offers competitive polarization tracking performance with reduced computational complexity.
- It is suitable for resource-constrained short-reach interconnects.
- Enables faster, more robust polarization tracking with lower power consumption and hardware footprint.
