A key question in the design of MDM systems is whether to engineer the channel to minimise or maximise the modal mixing and the implications that this is likely to have on system performance and the MIMO DSP complexity. This workshop will present views from both sides of this design choice.

The world’s insatiable demand for bandwidth is stretching physical layer capacity; it is only a matter of years before we are faced with throughputs that are beyond the reach of current static optical networks. Moreover, the changing nature of traffic toward more volatile patterns renders the conventional approach of over-provisioning of resources increasingly inefficient. Operators are finding that room for economically viable growth is shrinking. Flexible optical networks are being touted as a means of avoiding the capacity crunch and increasing costefficiency, through the introduction of adaptability in modulation format and elasticity in spectrum utilization, by dropping the fixed grid and allowing dynamic adjustment of throughput and wavelength allocation.
Realizing flexible networks will require a combination of disruptive and cross-layer innovations. In addition to multi-rate, multi-format, malleable-spectrum optical components, also needed are the tools to enable programmability and dynamic operation: Spectrally-efficient modulation formats, novel DSP for linear and nonlinear impairment monitoring and mitigation, enhanced transmission and link-engineering approaches which take physical impairments into consideration, as well as innovative dynamic control plane schemes.
Despite the promises, the challenge remains to precisely quantify the benefit -if any- of flexible deployments. For it to be a worthwhile investment that will encourage market uptake, the additional functionality must ultimately benefit an operator’s bottom line, versus static-operation alternatives.
This workshop aims to highlight the latest developments in flexible optical network design, control and operation, focusing on the impact of novel subsystems leveraging coherent technology and software-defined operation. The challenges of design and real-world implementation will be critically explored, and approached from all facets and all layers.
The workshop will include a moderated panel discussion on what it will take to consolidate these emerging technologies into viable, commercial systems, attempting to gauge potential benefits, as well as costs, for telecom operators.

With the rapidly increasing data traffic in 5G mobile fronthaul, data center interconnect (DCI), and metro networks, the growing bandwidth demand from high speed short range optical transmission will be much more than that from the long-haul optical transmission. Especially, when using conventional digital transmission such as CPRI in CRAN architecture, 5G performance targets would imply a severe capacity crunch. Besides, there are tremendous amounts of optical equipments in short range optical transmission systems compared with the long-haul transmission systems and thus will induce large cost and huge energy consumption. Therefore, the power and cost efficiency should be key considerations for short range optical transmission besides the transmission performance. The workshop aims to bring together internationally recognized experts from network operators, equipment/component vendors and academia in order to provide a comprehensive overview of this important field for next-generation short range optical transmission. Some demands, transmission schemes and optical components technologies which can be shared by 5G fronthaul, DCI and metro networks will be discussed in the first session. Then in the second session, the workshop will be focused on several new concepts, e.g. the Next Generation Fronthaul Interface (NGFI) based on Analog or Ethernet technologies and using a new functional split between BBU and RRH.

The workshop will put forward a discussion on the recent and rapid development of fiber/waveguide based sources and devices for the short wave infrared (2 micron), and will debate whether there is a real need for this technology, especially in the context of telecommunications. Amongst others, we are seeing the emergence of fiberized components, off the shelf sources, high speed modulators, directly modulated sources as well as demonstrations of 2 micron communications in hollow core fibers. Is there a real potential or is it simply interesting physics? What components/technological developments/improvements would be needed to make the technology an implemented reality?

Discussion on non-telecom applications will also be welcome, e.g. on the development and potential of fiber-based supercontinuum sources/combs and, Mid-IR oscillators. While many great and interesting experimental demonstrations have been done, are there the required applications and are fiber/waveguide approaches competitive?

This workshop aims to present the enabling technologies by exploring their strengths, weaknesses and level of maturity, as well as to explore applications and challenges that these technologies can address.

Organization

This workshop is organized in the framework of the EU funded projects BIG PIPES “Broadband Integrated and Green Photonic Interconnects for High Performance Computing and Enterprise Systems” and SEQUOIA “Energy efficient Silicon emitter using heterogeneous integration of III-V quantum dot and quantum dash materials”.
World-wide leading experts will be invited to give talks. The talks, complemented by BIG PIPES and SEQUOIA presentations, will be followed by a Q&A session involving a panel of all the Speakers.

TARGETS:
1) This workshop intends to provide a forum of debate on the effectiveness of nonlinear mitigation techniques in fully loaded long-haul WDM transmission systems.
2) Provide a comparative overview in terms of performance gain and technology complexity of the different solutions for digital and optical nonlinear mitigation.
3) Address the complexity-cost and maturity of digital integrated technology for implementation of nonlinear mitigation algorithms.
4) Provide a theoretical review of the dominant nonlinearities and quantify the impact of intra-channel and inter-channel distortion in the contest of fully loaded WDM transmission Systems.