The C3PO Project: Colourless and Coolerless Components for low Power Optical Networks

C3PO aims at developing Electro-Absorption Modulator (EAM) arrays and receiver arrays for future WDM-PONs and DWDM transport links, where colourless, coolerless operation with low power consumption, and aggregate 100Gbps throughput are important specifications.

Within this project, CIP will design athermal DWDM modulator arrays and photodiode receiver arrays, while IMEC will design concurrently the associated electronic driver and transimpedance amplifier (TIA) arrays. Concurrent design can improve the optoelectronic performance by co-optimization of key parameters of these E/O and O/E devices; for example the EAM modulator structure, its required driver voltage and impedance, as well as the interconnections and matching between the EAM modulator / PIN photodiode and its driver / TIA respectively.

10 channel 10Gb/s driver arrays and TIA arrays will be designed in an advanced SiGe BiCMOS technology and will be integrated with the CIP hybrid opto-electronic PIC. The 10-channel SiGe BiCMOS drivers must combine very low power consumption with a reduced foot print, and this without the need for power inefficient Peltier coolers in the package. And the 10-channel SiGe BiCMOS TIA arrays must optimise for high receiver sensitivity with well-controlled channel crosstalk and low power consumption.