Partenaires et organisations internationales
(Anglais)
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TU Athen (co-ordinator), Deutsche Telekom, Imperial College, London, ETH Zurich
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Résumé des résultats (Abstract)
(Anglais)
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The purpose of the DO_ALL project was to develop the technology platform to perform high speed digital optical logic and to apply this to specific applications where optical logic has cost/performance advantage over electronic solutions. The partners in the DO_ALL consortium were : (a) the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), (b) Deutsche Telekom (DT), (c) the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) and (d) Imperial College (IC).
The Digital Optical Fiber Logic Modules were successfully designed, constructed and characterized individually for operation at rates up to 10 Gbps. This set of modules included (a) an Optical Power Supply Module, (b) an Optical Gain Module, (c) an Optical Gate Module and (d) an Optical Shift Register. For the Optical Power Supply Module, three different designs for high repetition rate, short pulse oscillators based on semiconductor laser diodes were demonstrated and used. For the Optical Gain Module, both semiconductor diode amplifiers (SOAs) and erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) were designed, demonstrated and used in the logic experiments. The Optical Gate Module follows the design of an SOA-assisted Sagnac interferometer. Two such devices were implemented during DO_ALL, one using polarization and one using wavelength to discriminate the data inputs. Switching characteristics were evaluated for both modules. The ability for multiple gate cascades, which is the main requirement from a logic gate, was also evaluated and verified. The modules were also tested for the demonstration of complete Boolean logic functionality (AND, NOT, XOR operations) and they were applied to demonstrate non-trivial functionality with the generation of a pseudorandom pattern. A number of the results that have been obtained through DO_ALL are highly innovative and are the subject of submitted articles to referred journals.
The contribution of each of the partners in DO_ALL was : (a) DT was responsible for the high performance DFB diode lasers capable of modulation and gain switching up to 10 GHz, (b) ETHZ was responsible for the high gain, low recovery time bulk semiconductor optical amplifiers, (c) NTUA coordinated the project and was responsible for the demonstration of high gain, low noise EDFAs, the demonstration of the polarization input discrimination SOA assisted Sagnac gate and its integration to show Boolean AND and XOR operations, the gate cascades and the pseudorandom pattern and (d) IC was responsible for two short pulse laser sources that could be modulated up to 10 GHz and 20 GHz as well as for the demonstration of the wavelength input discrimination SOA assisted Sagnac and its integration to show Boolean AND and NOT operations.
As a result of the first phase DO_ALL, it has been possible to prove the feasibility of performing high speed, digital optical logic. It has also been possible to assess the risk associated with developing this novel technology platform. As this project aims at the novel subsystem and system development, the main risks are associated primarily with the integration of high performance optical devices. The first phase of DO_ALL has proven that (a) the performance of current active photonic devices is adequate to perform high speed, photonic logic at 10 GHz, (b) at the subsystem level, the integrated optical devices perform well enough to allow logic operations and finally (c) with modest improvements in the active devices, the operation of the Digital Optical Fiber Logic Modules can be extended to 40 GHz.
The first phase of DO_ALL has been successfully completed. The potential of the digital logic modules has attracted the interest from two new industrial members, Wandel & Goltermann, Germany, and Opto Speed SA, Switzerland. The role of the first in the project is to assess the technology and eventually use it in their product line and of the second to help plot the path of the modules from research to commercialization. The participation of these two new members in the consortium is a vote of confidence in this novel technology.
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