This year, one of the hot topics we are seeing in the OFC Optoelectronic Devices subcommittee is the drive toward low cost and energy efficient devices. The development of these devices will be hugely important for high-speed optical access networks, and such fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) systems will potentially create a huge market for optoelectronic devices in the next decade.
At the conference we will hear an invited talk from Christophe Kamierski of Alcatel 3-5 Labs in France that will specifically address the issue of low cost devices for future optical access networks. Christophe will demonstrate a realistic solution for colorless 10Gb/s un-cooled ONUs using amplified electro-absorption modulators that are compatible with current low-cost packaging technologies. Indeed this idea of low cost packaging is covered by a large number of contributed papers at OFC/NFOEC 2010. These papers demonstrate the ability to maintain excellent performance in terms of speed and energy efficiency while using low-cost packaging solutions that make the devices more suitable for price-sensitive markets such as FTTH.
Another key technology toward the development of low-cost optical systems is that of photonic integration of optoelectronic devices. Photonic integration is considered to be the technology that will enable future capacity requirements while also reducing the cost per bit, and it is therefore vital for the development of practical and cost-efficient photonic systems. The latest findings in this area will be covered by both contributed papers and invited papers from Chris Doerr of Bell Labs, Charles Joyner of Infinera, and Shinji Matsuo of NTT.
As a subcommittee chair and attendee, I look forward hearing presentations in these areas at the conference this year.
Liam Barry
Associate Professor, Dublin City University
Chair, OFC Subcommittee D, Optoelectronic Devices