Union Project MODE-GAP to Unveil Progress Towards the Next Generation Internet at ECOC
Ten key technical papers to address capacity crunch with radical innovations
MODE-GAP, the European collaborative R&D project which is part of the EU 7th Framework Programme and aims to provide Europe with a lead in the development of the next generation internet infrastructure, is to present its latest results at this month’s ECOC conference and exhibition in Amsterdam.
The MODE-GAP consortium consists of key European organisations drawn from industry and academia. Between them they are presenting ten major papers describing advances in critical components, measurement techniques, transmission and system aspects.
MODE-GAP is also hosting a SDM workshop in conjunction with the Japanese EXAT project on the eve of ECOC, September 16, titled Optical Components and Characterisation Requirements for SDM Networks. Spatial Division Multiplexing (SDM) using Mode Division Multiplexing (MDM) is the approach MODE-GAP is focussing on in order to significantly increase the data capacity of a single fibre. This is achieved by using multiple modes within the same core of Few-Mode Fibres (FMF) as independent channels, each capable of similar capacity to an individual single mode fibre.
The SDM workshop will include an opportunity to hear a presentation from Dr Masatoshi Suzuki of KDDI Research and Development labs in Japan. Dr Suzuki is a member of EXAT, and will be giving an overview of the project. The workshop also includes several speakers from the United States and in the afternoon there will be a panel session on Few-Mode Fibres.
“Progress in optical communication systems over the past few decades has been profound,” says MODE-GAP Project Manager Dr Ian Giles.
“As a consequence of successive breakthroughs, both in terms of photonic, and more recently, digital signal processing technologies, the latest laboratory transmission experiments are rapidly closing in on fundamental information theory limit. At the same time, traffic on the world’s optical communications networks is increasing by 40% year on year, leading to the distinct possibility of a capacity crunch.
“What we need is radical innovation and that is what MODE-GAP is trying to deliver. We have already made significant progress and the presentations and workshop at ECOC will demonstrate some of that work.”
Papers being presented by MODE-GAP at ECOC are:
· 1.45 Tbit/s Low Latency Data Transmission through a 19-Cell Hollow-Core Photonic Band-Gap Fibre
· Modal Gain Control in a Multimode Erbium-Doped Fibre Amplifier Incorporating Ring Doping
· Nonlinear Pulse Distortion in Few-Mode Fibre.
· Complementary Analysis of Modal Content and Properties in a 19-cell Hollow-Core Photonic Band-Gap Fibre using Time-of-flight and S2 Techniques
· Analysis of Light Scattering from Surface Roughness in Hollow-Core Photonic Band-Gap Fibres
· Impact of Mode-Coupling on the Mode-Dependent Loss Tolerance in Few-Mode Fibre Transmission
· Complexity Analysis for Higher Order Few-Mode Fibre DSP Equalizers
· Method to Visualise and Measure Individual Modes in Few-Mode Fibres
· Mode-Division Multiplexed 3×112-Gb/s DP-QPSK Transmission over 80km Few-Mode Fibre with Inline MM-EDFA and Blind DSP
· Experimental Investigation of Inter-Modal Cross-Gain Modulation and Transient Effects in a Two-Mode Group Erbium-Doped Fibre Amplifier
Key organisations comprising MODE-GAP include the University of Southampton’s Optoelectronics Research Centre, ESPCI ParisTech, OFS Fitel Denmark APS, Phoenix Photonics, the COBRA Institute at Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Eblana Photonics Ltd, Nokia Siemens Networks GMBH & Co. KG and the Tyndall National Institute of University College Cork. Half-way through a four year programme, MODE-GAP’s mission is to develop transmission technologies based on specialist long-haul transmission fibres, and associated enabling technologies. These include novel rare-earth doped optical amplifiers, transmitter and receiver components and data processing techniques to increase the capacity of broadband networks.
Dr. Ian Giles, Project Manager of MODE-GAP and CEO of Phoenix Photonics will be available for interview at stand 614 in the ECOC exhibition from 17-19 September, RAI, Amsterdam.
For further information visit http://modegap.eu/. If you would like to arrange an interview with Dr. Ian Giles, please contact Emma Johnson or Brian Dolby on +44(0)1636 812152 or by email to emma.johnson@proactive-pr.com or brian.dolby@proactive-pr.com.
About MODE-GAP
MODE-GAP is a key project seeking to provide Europe with a lead in the development of the next generation internet infrastructure to address the potential capacity crunch, as traffic on the world’s optical networks continues to increase dramatically. Combining the expertise of eight world-leading photonics partners, the project is developing transmission technologies based on specialist long-haul transmission fibres, and associated enabling technologies. These include novel rare-earth doped optical amplifiers, transmitter and receiver components and data processing techniques to increase the capacity of broadband networks.
