Intensity Modulated Optical Systems for Next Generation of Data Center Interconnects

This work investigates the performance of intensity modulated point-to-point optical links considering limitations from the electro-optical modulator bandwidth. All simulated scenarios considered a net transmission rate of 1 Tb/s, aiming to evaluate the feasibility of intensity modulated solutions for the next generation of short range optical links. Results indicate that, even considering a state-of-the-art electro-optical modulator, a 1-Tb/s transmission is viable only by using several wavelength-multiplexed optical subcarriers. The increase in the cost of this approach, when compared to coherent or self-coherent solutions, indicates the tendency to employ more spectrally efficient solutions on next-generation Data Center interconnects.