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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.03652 |
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| _version_ | 1866915712815071232 |
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| author | Gao, Zichao Lu, Siyu Zhang, Mingming Yao, Gengqi Zhang, Chicheng Deng, Miao Chen, Siyu Dai, Yiqi Yue, Shiqi Li, Chijun Li, Yuqi Zhou, Ziwen Liu, Zheli Yu, Xinyang Ji, Xitao Zeng, Cheng Yan, Siqi Xia, Jinsong Tang, Ming |
| author_facet | Gao, Zichao Lu, Siyu Zhang, Mingming Yao, Gengqi Zhang, Chicheng Deng, Miao Chen, Siyu Dai, Yiqi Yue, Shiqi Li, Chijun Li, Yuqi Zhou, Ziwen Liu, Zheli Yu, Xinyang Ji, Xitao Zeng, Cheng Yan, Siqi Xia, Jinsong Tang, Ming |
| contents | The rapid escalation of computing power driven by large-scale artificial intelligence is placing unprecedented demands on the bandwidth, latency, and energy efficiency of data-center interconnects (DCIs). Self-homodyne coherent (SHC) transmission is a promising architecture because it preserves the spectral efficiency of coherent detection while greatly simplifying digital signal processing, but its practical deployment is critically limited by random and often ultrafast state-of-polarization (SOP) fluctuations that induce carrier fading and destabilize coherent reception. Here we report the first integrated polarization controller based on thin-film lithium tantalate (TFLT), enabling reset-free polarization tracking at Mrad/s speeds. The four-stage electro-optic device exhibits polarization-dependent loss (PDL) below 0.3 dB, a half-wave voltage below 2.5 V, high modulation bandwidth, and negligible DC drift. To accommodate the finite tuning range of integrated phase shifters, we develop a finite-boundary gradient-descent (FBGD) control algorithm that ensures reset-free SOP evolution with no phase jump. The implemented adaptive polarization controller (APC) is validated through both standalone polarization-tracking measurements and a dual-polarization 16-QAM SHC 400-Gbps transmission system. Transient polarization disturbances can be tracked at speeds up to 2 Mrad/s, while stable reset-free operation under continuous polarization disturbances is maintained up to 1 Mrad/s. This reset-free performance represents more than doubling the state of the art, while the pre-FEC bit-error rates remain below the HD-FEC threshold under realistic DCI conditions and lightning-scale polarization disturbances. These results establish TFLT as a new platform for ultrafast, low-power, reset-free, and drift-free polarization control in coherent optical interconnects and beyond. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_03652 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | First Thin-Film Lithium Tantalate Polarization Controller Enabling Reset-Free Mrad/s Tracking for Optical Interconnects Gao, Zichao Lu, Siyu Zhang, Mingming Yao, Gengqi Zhang, Chicheng Deng, Miao Chen, Siyu Dai, Yiqi Yue, Shiqi Li, Chijun Li, Yuqi Zhou, Ziwen Liu, Zheli Yu, Xinyang Ji, Xitao Zeng, Cheng Yan, Siqi Xia, Jinsong Tang, Ming Optics The rapid escalation of computing power driven by large-scale artificial intelligence is placing unprecedented demands on the bandwidth, latency, and energy efficiency of data-center interconnects (DCIs). Self-homodyne coherent (SHC) transmission is a promising architecture because it preserves the spectral efficiency of coherent detection while greatly simplifying digital signal processing, but its practical deployment is critically limited by random and often ultrafast state-of-polarization (SOP) fluctuations that induce carrier fading and destabilize coherent reception. Here we report the first integrated polarization controller based on thin-film lithium tantalate (TFLT), enabling reset-free polarization tracking at Mrad/s speeds. The four-stage electro-optic device exhibits polarization-dependent loss (PDL) below 0.3 dB, a half-wave voltage below 2.5 V, high modulation bandwidth, and negligible DC drift. To accommodate the finite tuning range of integrated phase shifters, we develop a finite-boundary gradient-descent (FBGD) control algorithm that ensures reset-free SOP evolution with no phase jump. The implemented adaptive polarization controller (APC) is validated through both standalone polarization-tracking measurements and a dual-polarization 16-QAM SHC 400-Gbps transmission system. Transient polarization disturbances can be tracked at speeds up to 2 Mrad/s, while stable reset-free operation under continuous polarization disturbances is maintained up to 1 Mrad/s. This reset-free performance represents more than doubling the state of the art, while the pre-FEC bit-error rates remain below the HD-FEC threshold under realistic DCI conditions and lightning-scale polarization disturbances. These results establish TFLT as a new platform for ultrafast, low-power, reset-free, and drift-free polarization control in coherent optical interconnects and beyond. |
| title | First Thin-Film Lithium Tantalate Polarization Controller Enabling Reset-Free Mrad/s Tracking for Optical Interconnects |
| topic | Optics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.03652 |