Self-Coherent Receiver Based on a Recurrent Optical Spectrum Slicing Neuromorphic Accelerator

Coherent technology supporting higher order modulation formats is indispensable for fulfilling the ever-increasing need for higher capacity. However, coherent receivers require heavy digital signal processing (DSP) which increases the power envelope of coherent puggables well above the Intensity Modulation and Direct Detection (IM/DD) counterparts. Although self-coherent or phase retrieval methods have gained significant attention, they still lack in efficiency and suffer from multiple drawbacks in comparison with the standard coherent receiver. Here, we propose and numerically simulate a neuromorphic receiver based on recurrent optical spectrum slicing (ROSS) for detection and equalization of coherent modulation formats, utilizing minimal DSP and low bandwidth components. Through spectral slicing, the receiver can support up to 800 Gb/s/λ net data rate in single polarization configuration for short reach scenarios.