Agile photonic integrated systems-on-chip enabling WDM terabit networks

The ICT-APACHE research project is focusing on the development of cost-effective, compact, scalable and agile integrated components capable of generating, regenerating and receiving multi-level encoded data signals for high capacity (>;100 Gb/s) WDM optical networks. APACHE technology relies on InP active, monolithic chips, hybridly integrated on silica-on-silicon planar lightwave platforms in order to achieve cost-efficiency, high yield, low power consumption and device scaling beyond the level commercially available today. The APACHE integration approach is implemented in a two-dimensional plan, horizontally and vertically, in order to enable multi-functionality and increased capacity, respectively. The final goal of the APACHE project is the fabrication of integrated arrays of transmitters, receivers and regenerators that will operate with 100 Gb/s OOK, DPSK and DQPSK modulated signals, allowing for 1 Terabit/s on-chip capacity. In this paper, we will review the latest results from the system-level characterization of the developed components and will outline the roadmap for future endeavours.