UNICO · Universal frequency-comb platform for datacenter communications

By 2028, it is expected that overall datacom capacity will reach 100,000 Petabit/s, corresponding to 1 billion 100-Gbps equivalent SerDes shipments, and several hundred million O-band CW laser wavelength lines (25/50/100 Gbaud PAM4/PAM8). Comb lasers are an ideal technology platform for compact WDM solutions with the high throughput required by growing needs of the datacom industry. Currently, two compact comb-laser technologies stand out as promising platforms for datacom light sources: InAs/GaAs quantum-dot based comb lasers and microresonator-based Kerr combs. The project, facilitated by the fundamental complementarity of both technologies, will strive towards their unification in one versatile chip-scale comb platform, covering full range of WDM spacings (ultra-dense to coarse) and addressing key challenges of the datacenter market - power efficiency, harsh operating environment (85°C) and scalability. The competitive advantage is based on current world-leading technologies of QD comb lasers and microcombs being commercialized by the partners, the results of the originating H2020 CALADAN and PHOENICS projects, as well as the novel features, such as chirped-DBR comb laser, comb SOA and evanescent coupling to SiP. The goals of the project: (i) to develop a novel design and technological process of CW comb laser PIC fabrication with enhanced mode stability and ultra-low noise; (ii) to develop 2 prototypes of GaAs/SiN-on-SiP comb PIC, including 1.3-μm comb laser, evanescent coupling to SiP substrate, and comb-SOA: (1) QD chirped DBR comb for UDWDM/DWDM, and (2) microcomb for DWDM/CWDM. The consortium consists of Innolume (world market leader in InAs/GaAs QD), Dublin City University (high-speed communications), and Enlightra (associated partner, startup established in 2021, world’s first commercial optical comb with large frequency spacing 100-1000 GHz). This consortium combines scientific expertise with experience in translating ideas into products and scaling them.