Dense Polarization-Keyed Fiber Optic Communication System

在集成光纤通信系统中充分利用偏振调制来提高数据速率光纤是当今电信业的主力。它们的信息承载能力显著提高。即便如此，由于云计算、分布式数据中心和物联网(IoT)的兴起，对更高容量的需求将继续以越来越快的速度增长。该方案的目的是通过充分利用光的偏振特性来满足这种需要，该光的偏振特性可以显著超过当前光纤通信系统中所采用的技术的能力。预计研究成果将在不需要升级光纤基础设施的情况下，显著提高单根光纤的信道容量，从而突破现有光纤网络的容量极限。拟议的工作与当前和未来的光纤技术兼容，使其易于部署和面向未来。除了技术进步，该项目还为本科生和研究生提供了获得电信行业不可或缺的实用和最先进技术经验的机会。该提案将帮助培训学生，并使他们掌握技术及其商业化的知识，从而创建新的企业。反过来，这将增加美国的竞争优势。光的偏振已被用于光通信，以承载或交换信息。目前的应用主要集中在利用两个独立的偏振信道将单模光纤的数据传输容量翻一番。这项研究的目标是通过利用非常大量的可能的偏振态(SOP)来编码信息来显著增加容量。这是通过在集成光纤通信系统中使用用于SOP估计的最佳量子接收器和基于机器学习的最佳偏振调制格式来最大化可区分SOP的数量来实现的。本研究将通过理论和实验结果来探讨单模光纤中的这种容量。研究任务将包括为光通信链路设计最佳偏振接收器、偏振移相键控(POLSK)与相移键控(PSK)和正交幅度调制(QAM)的组合、基于深度神经网络的偏振调制格式优化，以及包含整个光链路(由发射器、信道和接收器组成)的最佳调制和检测的实验试验台。具体地说，在集成的发射器-信道-接收器体系结构上通过机器学习获得的最优偏振调制格式将为结合关于光链路损伤的数据驱动信息的系统优化提供新的见解。这与以牺牲复合系统的最优化为代价来单独优化通信系统组件的传统方法形成了鲜明对比。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Full Exploitation of Polarization Modulation for Increasing Data Speed in an Integrated Fiber Optic Communication SystemOptical fibers form the workhorse of the telecommunications industry today. Their information carrying capacity has risen spectacularly. Even so, demand for higher capacity will continue at an increasingly rapid rate due to the rise of cloud computing, distributed data centers, and the Internet of Things (IoT). The objective of this proposal is to address such a need by fully exploiting the polarization property of light for information transmission that can significantly surpass the capability of the technologies employed in current optical fiber communication systems. The outcomes of the research are expected to give a significant boost to the channel capacity in a single fiber without the need of fiber infrastructure upgrade, hence pushing the capacity limit of existing optical fiber networks. The proposed work is compatible with current and future fiber-optic technologies, making it readily deployable and future-proof. Aside from technology advancement, the project offers undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to gain practical as well as state-of-the-art technology experiences that are indispensable for the telecommunication industry. The proposal will help train students and equip them with the knowledge of technology and its commercialization leading to creation of new businesses. In turn, this will increase the competitive edge of the United States.Polarization of light has been used in optical communications for carrying or switching information. Current applications mostly focus on utilizing the two independent polarization channels to double the data transmission capacity of a single-mode optical fiber. The goal of this research is to significantly increase the capacity by exploiting the very large number of possible states of polarization (SOPs) to encode information. This is accomplished by maximizing the number of distinguishable SOPs with the use of optimal quantum receivers for SOP estimation and a machine-learning-based optimal polarization modulation format in an integrated fiber optic communication system. The research will explore this capacity in single-mode fibers through theory as well as experimental results. Research tasks will include the design of optimal polarization receivers for the optical communication link, the combination of polarization shift keying (POLSK) with phase-shift keying (PSK) and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), deep neural network-based optimizations for the polarization modulation format, and an experimental testbed incorporating the optimal modulation and detection for the entire optical link composed of the transmitter, channel and receiver. Specifically, the optimal polarization modulation format obtained by machine learning over the integrated transmitter-channel-receiver architecture will give new insights to system optimization that incorporates data-driven information on the optical link impairments. This is in contrast to the conventional approach to optimizing the components of the communication system individually at the expense of optimality of the composite system.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.