Pilot Photonics unveiled its SuperTROSA, a coherent optical engine that uses optical comb technology to deliver a Superchannel. The technology aims to enable high capacity, high spectral efficiency optical links.
Optical comb sources are lasers that produce multiple coherent wavelengths of light from a single device.
“By using a comb source, rather than independent lasers to create a superchannel, the coherence of the wavelengths can be used to dramatically reduce the digital signal processing that is required,” said Dr. Frank Smyth, founder and CTO at Pilot Photonics. “This results in significant power savings and allows data rates to continue to scale in current transceiver form-factors”.
Comb technology also enables increased spectral efficiency by reducing or eliminating guard bands between the sub-channels of a superchannel.
Pilot Photonics says its SuperTROSA optical engine uses a patented gain switched comb source (GSCS) technology. The SuperTROSA transmitter consists of a comb source and demultiplexer, four dual polarization IQ modulators, and superchannel coupling optics. The SuperTROSA receiver consists of comb local oscillator filters and four polarization diversity coherent receivers. The photonic integrated circuits are fabricated in indium phosphide.
“We have taken delivery of the first samples of our SuperTROSA chipset,” said William Oppermann, CEO at Pilot Photonics. “We have also just closed a significant investment that will allow us to accelerate the delivery of this exciting technology and customer trials are planned for later this year”
- Pilot Photonics was founded in August 2011 as a spinout company from Dublin City University’s Radio and Optical Communication Laboratory.
