We present the development and verification testing of a high speed multimode, multicore transceiver technology for intra-satellite optical interconnects. We report the fabrication and functional testing of opto-parts including 25 Gb/s 850 nm VCSEL/PD as well as the verification testing of the VCSELs against radiation and lifetime performance. In addition we report the development and evaluation testing of a multi-core cable assembly that was fabricated and mated with MiniAVIM multi-core connectors to develop hi-rel multi-core optical patchcords for pigtailing the transceiver modules. The fiber optic, electronic and opto-parts were used to assemble the first ever fully packaged and pigtailed, six-core optical transceiver prototype module that operates at 25 Gb/s channel bit rate at an energy consumption of ∠4.5 mW/Gb/s.
Multicore fiber enables a parallel optic data link in a single optical fiber. Thus, it is an attractive approach to increase the aggregate data throughput and the integration density of the interconnection.
We developed and demonstrated mid-board optical transceiver modules employing novel multicore fiber pigtails and multicore-optimized optoelectronic engines. The silica fibers having 125 µm diameter and including six graded-index multimode cores enable multi-gigabit interconnects at very short distances. The fiber is compatible with the 850-nm VCSEL technology that has many advantages, such as, the very low power operation and the mature and cost-effective GaAs-based device technology.
The transceiver incorporates transmitter and receiver subassemblies that are based on the multicore-optimized 850-nm VCSEL and photodiode array chips as well as on the co-designed multichannel VCSEL driver and TIA receiver ICs. All devices are operating up to 25 Gbps/channel and beyond, thus creating a 150 Gbps full-duplex link with the two 6-core fibers. The active areas on the 6-channel VCSEL and PD chips are arranged in a circular array layout that matches the cross-sectional layout of the fiber cores. This allows butt coupling to the fiber cores. The power consumption of the complete link is below 5 mW/Gbps.
The transceiver was developed to be applicable for harsh environmental conditions, including space. Therefore, for instance, hermetic packaging was applied and both the active devices and the integration structure enable very wide operation temperature range of up to approx. 100 °C.
This paper will present the technical approach including the basic building blocks and the transceiver module implementation. It will also present the results of the data link performance and some reliability testing.
Modern broadband communication networks rely on satellites to complement the terrestrial telecommunication infrastructure. Satellites accommodate global reach and enable world-wide direct broadcasting by facilitating wide access to the backbone network from remote sites or areas where the installation of ground segment infrastructure is not economically viable. At the same time the new broadband applications increase the bandwidth demands in every part of the network - and satellites are no exception. Modern telecom satellites incorporate On-Board Processors (OBP) having analogue-to-digital (ADC) and digital-to-analogue converters (DAC) at their inputs/outputs and making use of digital processing to handle hundreds of signals; as the amount of information exchanged increases, so do the physical size, mass and power consumption of the interconnects required to transfer massive amounts of data through bulk electric wires.
Multicore fiber enables a parallel optic data link with a single optical fiber, thus providing an attractive way to increase the total throughput and the integration density of the interconnections. We study and present photonics integration technologies and optical coupling approaches for multicore transmitter and receiver subassemblies. Such optical engines are implemented and characterized using multimode 6-core fibers and multicore-optimized active devices: 850-nm VCSEL and PD arrays with circular layout and multi-channel driver and receiver ICs. They are developed for bit-rates of 25 Gbps/channel and beyond, i.e. <150 Gbps per fiber, and also optimized for ruggedized transceivers with extended operation temperature range, for harsh environment applications, including space.
The first error-free data transmission beyond 1 km of multi-mode fiber at bit-rates exceeding 20 Gb/s is demonstrated
using a high modulation bandwidth, quasi-single mode (SMSR~20 dB) 850 nm VCSEL. A VCSEL with small ~3 μm
aperture shows quasi-single mode operation with a narrow spectral width. The top mirror reflectivity of the VCSEL is
optimized for high speed and high output power by shallow etching. A combination of narrow spectral width and high optical power reduces the effects of fiber dispersion and fiber and connector losses and enables such a long transmission distance at high bit-rates.
We present results from our new generation of high performance 850 nm oxide confined vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs). With devices optimized for high-speed operation under direct modulation, we achieve record high 3dB modulation bandwidths of 28 GHz for ~4 μm oxide aperture diameter VCSELs, and 27 GHz for devices with a ~7 μm oxide aperture diameter. Combined with a high-speed photoreceiver, the ~7 μm VCSEL enables error-free transmission at data rates up to 47 Gbit/s at room temperature, and up to 40 Gbit/s at 85°C.
The waveguide structure for the local evanescent array coupled (LEAC) biosensor is optimized theoretically
with Beam Propagation Method (BPM) simulations. The LEAC biosensor has successfully demonstrated
experimental results of a sensitivity of 16% /nm and a metrology limit of 14 pm. Considering the waveguide
thickness detector position used in previous experiments are far from optimized values, the detection performance of
the LEAC sensor can be significantly improved with the simulated optimal structure. With the optimized
parameters, when the upper cladding is air the estimated metrology limit is 0.8 pm; with water as the upper cladding
for real-time measurements in an intigrated microfluidic channel, the estimated metrology limit is 1.6 pm.
A demonstration of non-mechanical beam steering of high speed VCSEL arrays is reported. 980 nm oxide-confined
VCSELs were grown on a GaAs substrate with AlGaAs distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) and an InGaAs active
region. Up to 24 separate VCSEL arrays can be independently switched to sweep the beam across the illumination area.
Three array designs with varying total areas were fabricated with 97, 137, and 278 elements. The corresponding mesa
diameters were 24, 14 and 10 μm with pitches of 52, 40 and 26 μm. The relative output power, speed, and thermal
performance of an array design is reported.
The first investigation of the effect of mesa plated sidewall heatsinks on the performance of red oxide-confined verticalcavity
surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) is reported. Single mode (SMSR>20dB) visible (670 nm) VCSELs were
fabricated with an AlGaInP active region and AlGaAs distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs). Copper is electroplated on
and around VCSELs with different mesa diameters with a variety of overlap sizes. A trend of reduction in thermal
impedance for some devices has also been observed with increasing the plating overlap size.
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