OE Solutions and PhotonIC Demonstrate Extended-Reach 25Gbps Optical Transceiver for 5G Wireless Netw

OE Solutions and PhotonIC Demonstrate Extended-Reach 25Gbps Optical Transceiver for 5G Wireless Networks

  Gwangju, South Korea, September 7, 2020 --- OE Solutions and PhotonIC Technologies today announced the successful demonstration of a 25Gbps optical transceiver design, which enables more than 20km of transmission distance for wavelengths across the full C-band spectrum. The optical transceiver design leverages a newly developed PAM4 encoder along with other state-of-the-art electronic and optoelectronic components to enable the extended transmission distance.

  Deployment of next generation 5G wireless infrastructure is accelerating around the world. However, enabling the ambitious features of 5G is capital intensive on the part of network operators. The much higher number of antennas and the higher bandwidth that will be required for new services pose significant challenges to the optical network connecting the antennas to the backhaul network. As the optical data rate increases, the maximum transmission distance declines because of both optical power budget and dispersion. This means that higher data rates will not support all current fiber plant, as many networks include unregenerated spans longer than the new higher-speed transceivers support. Reengineering the access network is time consuming and very expensive, making novel transceiver solutions with longer transmission distances highly desirable.

Figure 1: Measured bit-error rate versus received power at 12.5GB (PAM4) for transmitter and receiver connected back-to-back and with 20km of standard single-mode fiber.

The BER of 5E-5 correspond to the FEC threshold for error-free transmission after correction.

  OE Solutions built a high-performance 25Gbps optical transceiver in a SFP28 form factor leveraging the newly developed MPHX-2025 PAM4 encoder/decoder IC from PhotonIC Technologies as well as a linear EML driver and APD from MACOM Technology Solutions Inc. (MACOM). The PAM4 IC creates the four-level intensity modulation at a symbol rate of 12.89 GB with a TDECQ below 2dB when driven with a standards-compliant 25.78Gbps NRZ signal from the host. The EML used for the transmitter in this module is a commercial 10Gbps EML, which provides sufficient bandwidth for the PAM4 signal while still enabling the extended transmission distance. Compared with a conventional 25Gbps NRZ transmitter, the reduction in symbol rate creates a narrower spectral width of the signal propagating on the fiber, in turn making it less susceptible to dispersion. This results in a longer maximum transmission distance. In this new transceiver design, a transmission distance in excess of 20km is demonstrated, whereas the maximum transmission rate for conventional 25Gbps NRZ transceivers is typically 15km. Figure 1 shows measured bit-error rates when the new transceivers are connected back-to-back and when a 20km length of standard G.652 single-mode fiber is inserted. After 20km of transmission, error rates below the threshold for error-free transmission post-FEC are measured for received powers above 16.5dBm indicating that transmission distances beyond 20km are possible depending on required power budget.

  “We take great pride in engineering and offering our customers novel transceiver solutions, which help them provide superior services to their customers while optimizing their return on investment,” said Dr. Bongsin Kwark, CTO of OE Solutions’ Module R&D division. He continued, “Sourcing novel high-quality components from innovative market leaders worldwide as well as our expertise in how best to leverage those for the benefit of our customers are critical for ours and their success.”

  Dr. Rui Bai, Vice President of R&D at PhotonIC Technologies said, “We are pleased to collaborate with one of the leading suppliers of optical transceivers to the rapid deployment of 5G networks worldwide. We believe network operators can benefit significantly from our technology and how we have applied it to novel integrated circuits serving the access network market, which is becoming increasing important as the breath of services and bandwidth delivered to the end user is increasing rapidly.”

  Visit PhotonIC at CIOE, Booth 8E162/163, in Shenzhen, China, from September 9 to 11, 2020 to learn more about this technology and its potential impact on next generation access networks, including 5G fronthaul networks. A demonstration will be shown at the booth.

  About OE Solutions

  OE Solutions is a global technology leader in optical transceivers for both wireless and wireline markets. For more than 15 years, OE Solutions has provided innovative, intelligent and green solutions to empower faster and richer communication, delivering the greatest satisfaction to its customers. OE Solutions is headquartered in Gwangju, South Korea, and has R&D centers in USA, the Netherlands as well as business centers worldwide. For more information, please visit www.oesolutions.com.

  About PhotonIC Technologies

  PhotonIC Technologies is a leading high-speed optical IC design company in datacenter, wireless and consumer electronics markets. The company develops and commercializes low-power & high-performance optoelectronic integrated solutions to serve the fast-growing optical /datacom, and 3D TOF markets. End users include the largest internet enterprises and mobile electronics across the world. PhotonIC is headquartered in Shanghai and has R&D/business operations in USA, Korea, and India. For more information, please visit www.photonic-tech.com.