ERC Proof of Concept project Photonic Integrated Microcombs as Multi-wavelength Sources for Edge Data Centers (PhoMEC) is a multi-scale system engineering project aimed to design and build 19"-rack-mounted stand-alone soliton microcomb source and evaluate it with industrial partners. Such a soliton microcomb represents a disruptive technology that combines chip-scale integration, low phase noise, and hundreds of channels from a single device driven by a single CW laser. Within the PhoMEC project, the EPFL team developed and assembled a stand-alone field-deployable microcomb unit with 100 GHz channel spacing. In moving forward to commercialization and reliability, we optimized components in collaboration with industrial suppliers of photonic solutions. Optimization of the "in-house" photonic packaging allowed us to implement optical comb sources with polarization-maintaining fiber, decreasing the total cost of components and highly improving tolerance to vibrations and acoustics. The built system was evaluated and tested in the facilities of the industrial partner, Microsoft. UK. The stand-alone soliton microcomb source acted as a multi-wavelength source for a proof-of-concept disaggregated tunable transceiver. The results will be published in the peer-reviewed journal, Nature Communications.
Such ultrafast photonic circuit switching based on a microcomb provided a path towards a more scalable and energy-efficient wavelength switched network for future data centers. Using the developed microcomb system in conjunction with semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs), sub ns (< 500 ps) switching of more than 20 carriers was achieved. The EPFLs team presented the microcomb system to customers at various conferences and in communications with industrial players and research institutions. Market feedback allowed us to define market needs, perform product development, and define a pricing strategy. Therefore, the next generation of the stand-alone soliton microcomb has become a higly in-demand product for data-center interconnection and for the test and measurements market. Several letters of interest will form a solid base for further commercialization of the soliton micro comb technology and start-up incorporation.
