Periodic Reporting for period 1 - COINCOST (Frequency Comb-Injection Locked Coherent Optically-Switched Transceivers for Intra-Data Centre Networks)
Reporting period: 2021-10-01 to 2023-09-30
This project aims to develop coherent optically switched transceivers by investigating and optimising optical frequency comb and optical injection locking techniques that address the technical challenges of latency, switching time and capacity. The over all objective is to enable a fast optical switching and coherent transmission low end-to-end latency for intra-data centre networks. It develops wavelength tunable lasers and mode locked lasers on a monolithic integrated platform as building block devices for data centre interconnects. It investigates new pathway towards a green data centre infrastructure that underpins modern ICT. Potentially providing the society with faster internet, more efficient cloud infrastructure with lower power consumption (thus greener ICT).
Develop the key building blocks based on monolithic integrated platform. Specifically, the project designed and tested wavelength switched laser with low linewidth that is needed for the proposed coherent switching systems. It also designed mode-locked lasers that enable parallel optical wavelength generation for more efficient optical transceivers. Two conference papers have been published during this period on device design and test.
Going beyond, the fellow has left academia to join industry to push forward the technology in photonic integrated circuit foundry. The host institute is continuing research to investigate devices' performance in a full system as well as in optically-switched data centre networks in collaboration with industrial partners, including Microsoft.