Photonic integrated circuits for passive optical networks

• Autor(a) principal: Rodrigues, Francisco Manuel Ruivo
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10773/41590
• topic: PIC; PON; GPON; XGS-PON; NG-PON2; Optoelectronics; Integrated transmitter; Integrated receiver; ASIC; Packaging

The concept of connectivity in the dictionary is defined as the ability of a computer or an information system to connect to other devices. This concept is constantly evolving because the devices that require connectivity are becoming increasingly diverse, and information systems are more complex. This increase in connectivity leads to an increase on the amount of transferred information and, consequently, the need for the evolution of telecommunications infrastructure, particularly those that reach our homes, such as passive optical networks. These networks also have their own evolution plan through the standards defined by standardization bodies which have started in the early 2000s with GPON, implemented worldwide today, bringing downstream speeds of 2.5 Gbps and upstream speeds of 1.25 Gbps. Today, we are witnessing the proliferation of technologies that already support 10 Gbps symmetrically, with the first tests of networks capable of delivering 50 Gbps symmetric speeds underway. The evolution of passive optical networks is only possible with the evolution of the optoelectronic components that implement them, and it is in the physical layer that challenges increase with the increase in bandwidth per device or the need for tuneability, as is the case of NG-PON2 standard. In parallel, with the evolution of passive optical networks in recent years, research and industry surrounding photonic integrated circuits have also made significant strides, allowing many of the devices around us to already have simple photonic integrated circuits. In data centers, where the need for bandwidth is much higher, most transceivers are already based on photonic integrated circuits and they bring all the advantages that integration has brought to the electronics domain, such as scalability at production and technological level, price or power consumption. Hence, the hypothesis arises that photonic integrated circuits can be part of the solution for the physical layer of 10 Gbps and beyond passive optical networks. Starting from this point, this thesis begins by presenting the evolution and hardware requirements of passive optical networks, as well as the evolution of photonic integrated circuits and their maturity for this market. This is followed by a theoretical study of the blocks of a transceiver for passive optical networks based on photonic integrated circuits, moving on to its design and testing, presenting experimental results of transceiver prototypes based on photonic integrated circuits. Finally, a techno-economic study and price sensitivity analysis are presented to ensure the feasibility of the proposed solution, along with a discussion of future market possibilities for integrated optical circuits in passive optical networks.