Infinera announced two milestones for advanced coherent technologies:
- pushing optical transmission to 100 gigabaud (GBaud) - this compares with typically deployed baud rates of 32 GBaud with the quadrature phase shift keying modulation carrying 4 bits per baud. Industry opto-electronics are moving to 66 GBaud development demonstrations. Infinera has surpassed this by being the first to showcase 100 GBaud using 32QAM to achieve a single-wavelength 1 terabit per second (Tb/s) data rate using multi-channel indium phosphide-based photonic integrated circuits (PICs) integrated with electronic driver and amplifier application-specific integrated circuits. This result was presented at the 2017 European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC).
- pushing modulation technology to 1024QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) -- at ECOC, Infinera showcased the higher-order modulation scheme of 1024QAM using advanced constellation shaping algorithms and Nyquist subcarriers, allowing wavelengths to be spaced close to each other to maximize the data rate for a certain reach. The Infinera test bed used 66 GBaud at 1024QAM to reach 1.32 Tb/s, yielding spectral efficiency of 9.35 bits per second per hertz over 400 kilometers (km), an industry first.
The milestones are significant because they increase they enable the delivery of the highest possible capacity on a single wavelength for varied distances.Optical transmission capacity is also a function of channel count, where multiple parallel wavelengths are combined on a single module to create a coherent super-channel. Infinera noted that as baud rates increase, placing optical components closer together on an integrated chip reduces component size and power while increasing reliability. Its PIC technology uniquely enables high-channel-count coherent super-channels.
“Infinera is delivering optical engines at a faster cadence to help operators achieve exceptional capacity and reach performance on their transport network infrastructures,” said Dr. Dave Welch, Infinera Co-Founder and President. “As 5G wireless and cable video services take off, Infinera offers significant value to transport network operators by designing industry-first solutions.”
https://www.infinera.com/infinera-makes-terabit-waves-ecoc-2017/
