Next-Gen Datacenter and Campus Optics: Technology Choices beyond 200 Gbps per Lane IM-DD
Abstract
The rapid emergence of large language model (LLM) enabled machine-learning applications is fueling an explosive growth in datacenter and campus scale network bandwidth demand. This tutorial examines the progress and scaling limitations of intensity modulation and direct detection (IM-DD) based optical technologies and explores how optimized coherent technology, such as the newly proposed 2-dimensional (2D) polarization-folding (PoFo) time-diversity approach, as well as a novel Heterodyne single sideband (H-SSB) coherent detection technology, can address some of these challenges
Fields of Study & Subjects
Optical Network Technologies
Photonic and Optical Devices
Neural Networks and Reservoir Computing
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Journal of Lightwave Technology
- Publisher
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- Volume
- 44
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 845–860
- Publication date
- 15 January 2026