Programmable Photonic Unitary Processor Enables Parametrized Differentiable Long-Haul Spatial Division Multiplexed Transmission

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Nakajima, Mitsumasa, Shibahara, Kohki, Ikeda, Kohei, Kawai, Akira, Notomi, Masaya, Miyamoto, Yutaka, Hashimoto, Toshikazu
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Nakajima, Mitsumasa
Shibahara, Kohki
Ikeda, Kohei
Kawai, Akira
Notomi, Masaya
Miyamoto, Yutaka
Hashimoto, Toshikazu
author_facet Nakajima, Mitsumasa
Shibahara, Kohki
Ikeda, Kohei
Kawai, Akira
Notomi, Masaya
Miyamoto, Yutaka
Hashimoto, Toshikazu
contents The explosive growth of global data traffic demands scalable and energy-efficient optical communication systems. Spatial division multiplexing (SDM) using multicore or multimode fibers is a promising solution to overcome the capacity limit of single-mode fibers. However, long-haul SDM transmission faces significant challenges due to modal dispersion, which imposes heavy computational loads on digital signal processing (DSP) for signal equalization. Here, we propose parameterized SDM transmission, where programmable photonic unitary processors are installed at intermediate nodes. Instead of relying on conventional digital equalization only on the receiver side, our approach enables direct optimization of the SDM transmission channel itself by the programmable unitary processor, which reduces digital post-processing loads. We introduce a gradient-based optimization algorithm using a differentiable SDM transmission model to determine the optimal unitary transformation. As a key enabler, we first implemented telecom-grade programmable photonic unitary processor, achieving a low-loss (2.1 dB fiber-to-fiber), wideband (full C-band), polarization-independent, and high-fidelity (R2>96% across the C-band) operation. We experimentally demonstrate 1300-km transmission using a three-mode fiber, achieving strong agreement between simulation and experiment. The optimized photonic processor significantly reduces modal dispersion and post-processing complexity. Our results establish a scalable framework for integrating photonic computation into the optical layer, enabling more efficient, high-capacity optical networks.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_17381
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Programmable Photonic Unitary Processor Enables Parametrized Differentiable Long-Haul Spatial Division Multiplexed Transmission
Nakajima, Mitsumasa
Shibahara, Kohki
Ikeda, Kohei
Kawai, Akira
Notomi, Masaya
Miyamoto, Yutaka
Hashimoto, Toshikazu
Optics
Machine Learning
Applied Physics
The explosive growth of global data traffic demands scalable and energy-efficient optical communication systems. Spatial division multiplexing (SDM) using multicore or multimode fibers is a promising solution to overcome the capacity limit of single-mode fibers. However, long-haul SDM transmission faces significant challenges due to modal dispersion, which imposes heavy computational loads on digital signal processing (DSP) for signal equalization. Here, we propose parameterized SDM transmission, where programmable photonic unitary processors are installed at intermediate nodes. Instead of relying on conventional digital equalization only on the receiver side, our approach enables direct optimization of the SDM transmission channel itself by the programmable unitary processor, which reduces digital post-processing loads. We introduce a gradient-based optimization algorithm using a differentiable SDM transmission model to determine the optimal unitary transformation. As a key enabler, we first implemented telecom-grade programmable photonic unitary processor, achieving a low-loss (2.1 dB fiber-to-fiber), wideband (full C-band), polarization-independent, and high-fidelity (R2>96% across the C-band) operation. We experimentally demonstrate 1300-km transmission using a three-mode fiber, achieving strong agreement between simulation and experiment. The optimized photonic processor significantly reduces modal dispersion and post-processing complexity. Our results establish a scalable framework for integrating photonic computation into the optical layer, enabling more efficient, high-capacity optical networks.
title Programmable Photonic Unitary Processor Enables Parametrized Differentiable Long-Haul Spatial Division Multiplexed Transmission
topic Optics
Machine Learning
Applied Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.17381