VPIphotonics at SPIE Photonics West, 2-7 February in San Francisco, USA


Come and visit our modeling experts at Booth 4423!


Highlights

  • VPIphotonics Design Suite™ v9.9


    Design Photonic Components and Compare Transmission Technologies

    VPIphotonics Design Suite accelerates the design of new photonic systems and subsystems for short-range, access, metro and long-haul optical transmission systems. Further, it supports assessment of technology upgrade and component substitution strategies that are to be developed for existing fiber plants. Highlights supported by the new version 9.9:

    • Explore and compare technologies for fiber-optics and integrated photonics
    • Evaluate transmission system concepts, component and signal processing limitations
    • Control lab equipment, virtualize component functions, and automate testing

    For more details about the enhancements in the new version 9.9 please click here!

    VPIphotonics Design Suite v9.9
     
     


     

  • New Version: VPItoolkit™ DSP Library v3.5


    Tx- and Rx-side Digital Signal Processing algorithms for coherent optical transmission systems

    VPIphotonics announces the release of new version 3.5 of the VPItoolkit DSP Library, a powerful set of digital signal processing algorithms developed by the Photonic Networks and Systems department at Fraunhofer HHI.

    New features include:

    • A new Kramers-Kronig detection function, enabling the use of all DSP Library functions with this class of transmission systems.
    • Two new demos showcasing the Kramers-Kronig scheme with experimental and simulated signals.
    • A new demo to show how data-aided frequency-domain equalization can be used to demodulate probabilistically-shaped M-QAM signals.
    For more details about the DSP Library, please click here!

    The DSP Library is a pluggable toolkit for VPItransmissionMaker Optical Systems and VPIlabExpert, allowing the application of advanced DSP techniques for coherent optical systems in both simulation, as well as experimental laboratory setups.


    VPItoolkit DSP Library v3.5
     


     

  • New Version: VPImodeDesigner™ v1.5


    Comprehensive Design of Waveguides and Fibers

    We demonstrate the greatly enhanced new version of VPImodeDesigner – the powerful software design tool for the analysis and optimization of integrated photonic waveguides and optical fibers.

    The new version provides new finite-difference mode solvers, enabling efficient modeling of plasmonic waveguides and accurate treatment of electric field singularities near sharp corners of high-index-contrast and plasmonic waveguides. It offers improved automated calculation of dispersive waveguide and fiber properties for degenerate and highly dispersive modes near cut-off wavelengths, and new advanced field operations with enhanced usability.

    This version of VPImodeDesigner can be seamlessly integrated with VPIComponentMaker Photonic Circuits v9.9, our powerful circuit-level simulator of integrated photonics.

    VPImodeDesigner v1.5
     


     

  • Updated VPItoolkit™ PDK SMART v1.4 with export to multiple layout tools


    Flexible and fast schematic-driven design of photonic integrated circuits

    VPIphotonics announces release of an updated VPItoolkit PDK SMART supporting the SMART Photonics Process Design Kit (PDK), which seamlessly integrates Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) simulation and automated mask layout extraction.


    The free and open-source Nazca Design framework developed by BRIGHT Photonics is now fully supported for the generation of verified PICs layouts to be submitted and processed in terms of Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) runs on SMART Photonics' Indium Phosphide technology platform. Similar mask export capabilities with OptoDesigner developed by PhoeniX Software (part of Synopsys) have already been introduced earlier.

    VPItoolkit PDK SMART v1.4


     
     

  • Lab Automation Hackathon


    Sunday 3 February 2019, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM, Room 11 (South Exhibit Level)

    Come and attend our live demonstrations at Lab Automation and Photonic Design Hackathon during SPIE Photonics West 2019. Our experts will demonstrate Python-powered advanced functionalities in VPIphotonics Design Suite including simulation controlling scripts, automatic optimization and sensitivity analysis, custom components modeling and caching of simulation data.


    For more information and registration click here!

    This hackathon provides 5-8 demos for various common lab automation tasks, ranging from simple remote control of optical instrumentation, data processing and photonic design simulations, all the way to full lab automation. Students, professionals of all levels are welcome to learn and share their secret tips and tricks developed over the years.


    Bring a laptop to participate in the exercise. There will be plenty of time for mingling and discussion. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.


     
     

  • Interfacing between Tanner L-Edit and VPIphotonics Design Suite™


    VPIphotonics partners with Mentor to deliver effective solution for the layout-driven design of the photonic integrated circuits.

    Mentor's tool Tanner L-Edit Photonics provides designers with a full-featured layout editor supporting manual layout of integrated photonic designs.


    The link to VPIphotonics Design Suite enables an automated conversion of a layout created in Tanner L-Edit into the schematic in VPIphotonics Design for subsequent benchmarking in photonics test beds and/or system applications levering the advanced simulation capabilities of VPIcomponentMaker Photonic Circuits and VPItransmissionMaker Optical Systems.

    Layout-Driven Schematic Design Flow – Tanner L-Edit and VPI Design Suite


     



Technical Feature Presentations

Our modeling experts will provide a number of technical presentations on various design and analysis topics. Please find a short list below:

  • Optical waveguides and related devices
  • Large-scale and heterogeneous Photonic Integrated Circuits
  • Fab-specific circuit designs and export to mask layout software
  • Optical amplifiers and sources based on single- or multimode fibers
  • Lab interfaces to bridge the gap between simulations and experiments
  • Lab-proven and modulation-format independent DSP algorithms
  • Aggregation, optical access and radio-over-fiber systems
  • Power transients and dynamic network reconfiguration
  • Simplified and comprehensive link engineering
  • High-speed transmission systems with data rates of 400Gb and beyond
  • Spatial Division Multiplexing - technologies and transmission concepts
 


Additional information required on a particular subject?
Interested in discussing specific topics?


Arrange a meeting with a member of the VPI R&D team.


Please indicate your name, company, the issue you want to discuss and your availability during the conference.

 


 
Contributions to SPIE Photonics West 2019 Conference Program

Benefits of optical transceivers employing intentionally nonuniform quantization for advanced modulation formats (Invited Paper)

S. Dris, A. Richter (VPIphotonics)
Session 6: Optical Components for Datacenter Networks (Paper 10946-19) – Wed 6 Feb 2019, 9:10am - 9:40am

Abstract: A significant amount of R&D effort has been expended recently in finding Shannon capacity-approaching modulation schemes for optical communications. Probabilistic shaping (PS) of QAM constellations has emerged as a particularly attractive solution, allowing fine-grain adjustment of bit-loading, which can be traded off for transmission reach; this approach is ideal for realizing flexible, bandwidth-variable transceivers. PS-QAM, as well as other techniques such as digital subcarrier multiplexing (DSCM), pose significant challenges for the design of transceivers. In particular, the resolution of the digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital converters (DACs/ADCs) becomes critical, if the full benefits of advanced formats are to be obtained.

We present results of our investigation on applying intentionally nonuniform quantization in optical transceivers, as a means of relaxing DAC resolution requirements. By matching the quantizer's transfer function to the distribution of the signal amplitudes, quantization noise can be minimized. This novel approach can lower component cost and power consumption, potentially bringing advanced modulation formats to short-haul/metro links. Moreover, transceivers in the less cost-sensitive long-haul market segment can also profit from increased performance, due to higher signal-to-quantization noise ratio (SQNR). We show how to derive the nonuniform levels for any given modulation format, and quantify by means of extensive simulations the performance gain of the overall coherent system.


 


Live Product Demonstrations

Professional Services and R&D Activities

Learn more about VPI's Consulting and R&D activities! Contact us for custom design services, and training seminars on modern technologies and their adequate modeling.

VPIphotonics partners with public research institutes, industry and universities to develop advanced solutions for the design and optimization of future photonic networks. These activities range from component design to network planning.


 

  • SENDATE-FICUS - Secure networking for a data center cloud in Europe –
    Flexible infrastructure for data center communication providing unique security

    VPIphotonics teams up with Coriant and academic partners in the framework of the Celtic-Plus project SENDATE-FICUS.

    The purpose of this project is the development of new technologies enabling the transition from today's networks to robust, efficient, secure and re-configurable converged communication networks.

     

  • QAMeleon - Sliceable multi-QAM format SDN-powered transponders and ROADMs Enabling Elastic Optical Networks

    VPIphotonics' core technical contribution to the project will be in work package "Component and System Specifications and Requirements". The team will participate in formulating the project's use-cases, network requirements and performance indicators, defining the system and component specifications, as well as take an active role in the development of the TRx DSP algorithms that are central to the QAMeleon's technological objectives. VPI leads a task where system and component modeling and simulation takes place.

    The work that will be carried out here will constitute the first verification of the project's proposed system concepts. Heavy interaction with work packages related to components fabrication will take place to aid the design and development cycle, and ensure that performance targets are met. Furthermore, VPI will also actively support the experimental verification effort, contributing with researchers, as well as its commercial lab automation software (VPIlabExpert), in the laboratory and field trial validations of the developed technology.

     

  • EU Quantum Flagship Project UNIQORN - advances the next generation of quantum communication systems

    The multidisciplinary project UNIQORN will develop under the participation of VPIphotonics quantum technology for the mass market. Quantum communication systems, mostly found in research laboratories, will be squeezed into small and reliable photonic integrated circuits.

    By carefully laying out each element along the development chain from fabrication to application, the Horizon 2020 project will not only reduce size and cost, but will also bring improvements in terms of robustness and reproducibility.

     

  • PolyPhotonics Berlin - Optical Components from Plastic

    VPIphotonics teams up with regional enterprises and research institutes in frame of PolyPhotonics Berlin, an R&D project co-financed by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The PolyPhotonics Berlin consortium targets to establish a new versatile polymer based integration platform combined with Indium-Phosphide and thin-film filter technologies for numerous photonics applications in the global communications and sensing market.

    VPIs role in this initiative is to develop a toolbox of simulation models representing libraries of photonic and optoelectronic building blocks. This toolbox may serve as basis for project partners and external users when designing and verifying complex photonic components and integrated circuits that are to be manufactured by the PolyPhotonics Berlin consortium.