Nikos Pleros

A 60 GHz Radio-Over-Fiber Network Architecture for Seamless Communication With High Mobility

We demonstrate a 60 GHz broadband picocellular Radio-over-Fiber network architecture that enables seamless connectivity for highly mobile end-users. Its seamless communication capabilities arise by the supported handover scheme that relies on a novel Moving Extended Cell (MEC) concept. MEC exploits user-centric virtual groups of adjacent cells that transmit the same data content to the user and utilizes a switch mechanism for restructuring the virtual multi-cell area according to the users mobility pattern, so that a virtual antenna group moves together with the mobile user. We present the theoretical formulation for MEC and show that it can provide zero packet loss and call dropping probability values in high-rate wireless services for a broad range of mobile speeds up to 40 m/sec, independently of the fiber link distances. We also demonstrate the physical layer network architecture and switch mechanism both for a RoF network with a single 60 GHz radio frequency (RF) over each wavelength, as well as for a RoF configuration supporting simultaneous multi-RF channel transmission over each optical wavelength. The performance of the multi-RF-over-lambda network implementation is evaluated via simulations showing successful 100 Mb/s radio signal transmission over fiber links longer than 30 km. To this end, MEC can enable seamless connectivity and bandwidth guarantees in 60 GHz picocellular RoF networks being also capable of serving multiple users over the same wavelength in a RF frequency-division-multiplexed (FDM) approach.

All-optical signal Processing and applications within the esprit project DO/spl I.bar/ALL

This paper reviews the work performed under the European ESPRIT project DO/spl I.bar/ALL (Digital OpticAL Logic modules) spanning from advanced devices (semiconductor optical amplifiers) to all-optical modules (laser sources and gates) and from optical signal processing subsystems (packet clock recovery, optical write/store memory, and linear feedback shift register) to their integration in the application level for the demonstration of nontrivial logic functionality (all-optical bit-error-rate tester and a 2/spl times/2 exchange-bypass switch). The successful accomplishment of the projects goals has opened the road for the implementation of more complex ultra-high-speed all-optical signal processing circuits that are key elements for the realization of all-optical packet switching networks.

Clock recovery circuit for optical packets

We demonstrate an all-optical clock recovery circuit for operation with short data packets of 10-Gb/s rate. The circuit uses a Fabry-Perot etalon and a nonlinear UNI gate and is capable of acquiring the clock signal within a few bits.

All-optical packet address and payload separation

An all-optical address and data separation scheme is presented for short 10-Gb/s packets. The technique uses a novel packet clock recovery circuit that consists of a Fabry-Perot filter and a ultrafast nonlinear interferometer (UNI) gate to generate a local packet clock. A second cascaded UNI gate is used to separate the header and the payload, performing a simple AND operation between the packet and its self-derived clock. The proposed technique requires a small number of bits as guard band and this number is independent of the line rate.

Optical Static RAM Cell

We demonstrate an optical static random access memory cell that provides read and write functionality at 5 Gb/s. The circuit comprises a hybridly integrated semiconductor optical amplifier-Mach-Zehnder interferometer (SOA-MZI) flip-flop serving as the memory unit and two additional SOA-based cross-gain modulation switches for controlling access to the memory cell.

Multiwavelength and power equalized SOA laser sources

Multiwavelength and power-equalized operation is demonstrated in a semiconductor optical amplifier ring laser that uses a fiber Fabry-Perot filter. By using single-pass optical feedback, the power-equalized oscillating spectrum is broadened so that simultaneous oscillation of 52 lines spaced at 50 GHz is achieved. The lines had 500 MHz width were power-equalized to within 0.3 dB and the extinction was better than 32 dB.

10-Gb/s all-optical half-adder with interferometric SOA gates

In this letter, we report an all-optical module that generates simultaneously four Boolean operations at 10 Gb/s. The circuit employs two cascaded ultrafast nonlinear interferometers and requires only two signals as inputs. The first gate is configured as a 2 /spl times/ 2 exchange-bypass switch and provides OR and AND logical operations. The second gate generates XOR (SUM bit) and AND (CARRY bit) Boolean operations and constitutes a binary half-adder. Successful operation of the system is demonstrated with 10-Gb/s return-to-zero pseudorandom data patterns.

Two dimensional polymer-embedded quasi-distributed FBG pressure sensor for biomedical applications

We report on the development of a flexible 2D optical fiber-based pressure sensing surface suitable for biomedical applications. The sensor comprises of highly-sensitive Fiber Bragg Grating elements embedded in a thin polymer sheet to form a 2x2 cm(2) sensing pad with a minimal thickness of 2.5mm, while it is easily expandable in order to be used as a building block for larger surface sensors. The fabricated pad sensor was combined with a low physical dimension commercially available interrogation unit to enhance the portability features of the complete sensing system. Sensor mechanical properties allow for matching human skin behavior, while its operational performance exhibited a maximum fractional pressure sensitivity of 12 MPa(-1) with a spatial resolution of 1x1cm(2) and demonstrated no hysteresis and real time operation. These attractive operational and mechanical properties meet the requirements of various biomedical applications with respect to human skin pressure measurements, including amputee sockets, shoe sensors, wearable sensors, wheelchair seating-system sensors, hospital-bed monitoring sensors.

Active plasmonics in WDM traffic switching applications

With metal stripes being intrinsic components of plasmonic waveguides, plasmonics provides a “naturally” energy-efficient platform for merging broadband optical links with intelligent electronic processing, instigating a great promise for low-power and small-footprint active functional circuitry. The first active Dielectric-Loaded Surface Plasmon Polariton (DLSPP) thermo-optic (TO) switches with successful performance in single-channel 10 Gb/s data traffic environments have led the inroad towards bringing low-power active plasmonics in practical traffic applications. In this article, we introduce active plasmonics into Wavelength Division Multiplexed (WDM) switching applications, using the smallest TO DLSPP-based Mach-Zehnder interferometric switch reported so far and showing its successful performance in 4×10 Gb/s low-power and fast switching operation. The demonstration of the WDM-enabling characteristics of active plasmonic circuits with an ultra-low power × response time product represents a crucial milestone in the development of active plasmonics towards real telecom and datacom applications, where low-energy and fast TO operation with small-size circuitry is targeted.

Ultrafast time-domain technology and its application in all-optical signal processing

In this paper, we review recent advances in ultrafast optical time-domain technology with emphasis on the use in optical packet switching. In this respect, several key building blocks, including high-rate laser sources applicable to any time-division-multiplexing (TDM) application, optical logic circuits for bitwise processing, and clock-recovery circuits for timing synchronization with both synchronous and asynchronous data traffic, are described in detail. The circuits take advantage of the ultrafast nonlinear transfer function of semiconductor-based devices to operate successfully at rates beyond 10 Gb/s. We also demonstrate two more complex circuits-a header extraction unit and an exchange-bypass switch-operating at 10 Gb/s. These two units are key blocks for any general-purpose packet routing/switching application. Finally, we discuss the system perspective of all these modules and propose their possible incorporation in a packet switch architecture to provide low-level but high-speed functionalities. The goal is to perform as many operations as possible in the optical domain to increase node throughput and to alleviate the network from unwanted and expensive optical-electrical-optical conversions.