Zoom sur le projet EMBRACE – Vers des réseaux optiques multi-bandes à haute performance

Le projet EMBRACE, est porté par Orange SA, en partenariat avec IMT Atlantique, Kylia / iXBlue, et MPB Communications (Canada).

Le projet EMBRACE vise à développer des systèmes et réseaux de transport optique WDM multi-bandes exploitant l’ensemble de la bande passante des fibres optiques modernes, couvrant la plage de longueurs d’onde de 1300 nm à 1700 nm. Il prévoit la conception et l’évaluation, à travers des essais sur le terrain, de nouveaux composants tels que des lasers accordables, des amplificateurs optiques à fibre, des émetteurs/récepteurs cohérents, des ROADMs et des systèmes WDM multi-bandes.

Ce projet a été co-labellisé par les pôles de compétitivité Images & Réseaux et Systematic, dans le cadre de l’AAP BPIFRANCE PSPC Régions Régions (ex FUI) 2019.

EMBRACE aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of a metropolitan/regional multi-span optical transmission with a capacity 3-time larger than current deployed equipment. The technologies developed within the project use an optical transmission operating in the S+C+L band between 1460 nm and 1620 nm with all the required multi-band components and devices, including the WDM transceiver, multi-band optical amplifiers and the associated band/wavelength MUX/DMUX. A study was also carried out on the impact of opening new wavelength windows on the operation of an all-optical transport network.

Main focus

Multi-band optical transmission faces complex challenges, the most important of which is stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), which generates energy transfer from high-frequency (or low-wavelength) bands to low-frequency (or high-wavelength) bands. The consortium was able to transmit 240 channels (considering the 50 GHz ITU grid) between 1480 nm and 1610 nm over 4 x 100 km standard single-mode fiber (SSMF) spans. Multi-band optical transmission is very useful to maximize the use of existing fiber optic infrastructures and to optimally fill loaned fibers in regions where Internet Service Providers (ISPs) do not own their fiber infrastructure. Multi-band technology is also an opportunity to make optical transport networks more flexible.

Approach

EMBRACE introduces an innovative optical amplification technology to enable multiband transmission over four spans. A multi-band WDM coherent transponder prototype capable of operating between 1460 nm and 1640 nm has also been built. In the final EMBRACE demonstration, 240 WDM channels (80 channels per band) were transmitted over 4×100 km of SSMF spans.

Achieved results

A multi-band WDM transponder prototype able to operate between 1460-nm and 1640-nm was realized and used with success during the final demo. The final demo combined these various elements in a S+C+L-band transmission set-up of 4×100-km of SSMF with successful transmission of 240 channels at 33-Gbaud (on 50-GHz ITU grid). 600-Gbps channels were successfully transmitted in the C- and L-band. EMBRACE demonstrated the possible use of metro / regional legacy fiber infrastructure for multi-band WDM transmission.

Impact

EMBRACE has experimentally demonstrated that WDM transmission in S+C+L bands is possible over a multi-span standard fiber infrastructure (at least four 100 km amplifier spans) EMBRACE gives a reassuring signal to the optical communications industry that investing in components and devices addressing bands other than C- and L-bands is a future-proof position that can potentially enable operators to continuously improve capacity on their existing fiber infrastructures.

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