This research group is led by Prof. Antonella Bogoni, and works within the joint research center of:
The center is located in Pisa.
The area activities can be divided in two main topics: digital photonics and microwave photonics.
For both topics integrated solutions have been and developed and other are in progress in collaboration with the Integrated Photoinc Techonlogies Center (INPHOTEC), co-located in Pisa.
Digital photonics activities aim at developing photonic subsystems for carrying out digital butd also analogue functionalities in optical domain suitable to operate ad high bit rate. High capacity transmission and switching techniques are under development for flexible optical networks and data center applications. Advanced modulation formats and coherent systems are considered. Bulk and integrated solutions are under investigation exploiting mature technologies and new promising photonics technologies. Experimental demonstration based on bulky components as proof of concept, and the design of integrated advanced implementation are being developing. Currently the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light as additional multiplexing domain for high capacity short links and reconfigurable switching is under investigation within the H2020 European ROAM project.
Moreover remote optical sensing (i.e. lidar) solutions are under investigation in integrated implementations
Recent achievements:
-20Tb/s optical switch field trial with integrated OAM-based components
-20Tb/s optical transmission in 1km-long OAM fiber has been achieved
Moreover remote optical sensing (i.e. lidar) solutions are under investigation in integrated implementations
Recent achievements:
-20Tb/s optical switch field trial with integrated OAM-based components
-20Tb/s optical transmission in 1km-long OAM fiber has been achieved
Past achievements:
- The first photonic logic processor working at 640 Gb/s
- The first all-optical regeneration scheme working at 160 Gb/s
Microwave photonics activities concern the development of photonics-assisted advanced RF subsystems, (including the millimeter wave band), as frequency-agile, high-quality and software-defined RF signal generators, receivers, beamforming networks and RF tunable filters for ultra wideband communication, sensing and dual use applications.
In particular, innovative solutions have been presented for 5G networks and for multiband radars.
Field trials for the first photonic-assisted radar have been developed and presented on the prestigious scientific journal NATURE. Integrated architecture of combined radar and lidar systems have also been investigated for applications as environment monitoring, high precision agriculture and automotive. Integrated prototypes of the RF photonic-based transceivers are also under development. Si and III-V technologies are being exploited. Related activities included in the microwave photonics topics are also:
- Optical RF scanning for electronic countermeasures
- Photonic-assisted hybrid active and passive radars
- Fiber-based antenna remoting
- MIMO radar
Recent achievements:
- The first 0-40 RF scanner base don photonics
- Optical beamforming net for a 32-element PPA working at 13GHz with tuning speed of 1ns and phase precision <1°
In particular, innovative solutions have been presented for 5G networks and for multiband radars.
Field trials for the first photonic-assisted radar have been developed and presented on the prestigious scientific journal NATURE. Integrated architecture of combined radar and lidar systems have also been investigated for applications as environment monitoring, high precision agriculture and automotive. Integrated prototypes of the RF photonic-based transceivers are also under development. Si and III-V technologies are being exploited. Related activities included in the microwave photonics topics are also:
- Optical RF scanning for electronic countermeasures
- Photonic-assisted hybrid active and passive radars
- Fiber-based antenna remoting
- MIMO radar
Recent achievements:
- The first 0-40 RF scanner base don photonics
- Optical beamforming net for a 32-element PPA working at 13GHz with tuning speed of 1ns and phase precision <1°
Past achievements:
- The first fully digital photonics based radar
