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Photonics
Special Issues
Signal Processing and System Integration for Next-Generation Optical Communication
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Signal Processing and System Integration for Next-Generation Optical Communication

A special issue of Photonics (ISSN 2304-6732). This special issue belongs to the section "Optical Communication and Network".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 January 2027 | Viewed by 3596

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jingchi Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Photonics and Communications, School of Information Science and Electronic Engineering & School of Integrated Circuits, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
Interests: optical communications; digital signal processing; Photonic integration; short-reach interconnects
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yixiao Zhu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Photonics and Communications, School of Information Science and Electronic Engineering & School of Integrated Circuits, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
Interests: optical communications; short-reach optical interconnects; fronthaul
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Xingfeng Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen 518055, China
Interests: high-speed optical transmission; direct-detection systems; digital signal processing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid growth of global data traffic demands revolutionary advancements in optical communication systems, driving innovations across devices, architectures, and algorithms. To meet the escalating requirements for ultra-high bandwidth, low latency, and energy efficiency, innovative advancements in signal processing and system integration are imperative. This Special Issue aims to showcase pioneering research and transformative solutions that address the challenges and opportunities in designing, optimizing, and deploying next-generation optical communication infrastructures. We are pleased to invite you to submit your latest research findings to this Special Issue. The topics of interest for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • High-speed optical signal processing;
  • Direct detection systems;
  • System integration and co-packaged optics;
  • Advanced modulation and coding;
  • Optical interconnects and network-level signal processing;
  • Experimental demonstrations and prototypes.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Jingchi Li
Dr. Yixiao Zhu
Dr. Xingfeng Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Photonics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • optical communication
  • optical signal processing
  • photonic integration
  • optical interconnects
  • machine learning for optical systems
  • system-level design and optimization

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 3960 KB  
Article
Tunable Narrow-Linewidth Si3N4 Cascaded Triple-Ring External-Cavity Semiconductor Laser for Coherent Optical Communications
by Tong Wang, Yuchen Hu, Wen Zhou and Ye Wang
Photonics 2026, 13(1), 72; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13010072 - 13 Jan 2026
Viewed by 639
Abstract
We propose an external-cavity laser that combines wide tunability with narrow linewidth. The design utilizes a low-loss Si3N4 waveguide and a thermally tuned cascaded triple-ring resonator to enable continuous wavelength tuning. The numerical simulations indicate that the proposed laser exhibits [...] Read more.
We propose an external-cavity laser that combines wide tunability with narrow linewidth. The design utilizes a low-loss Si3N4 waveguide and a thermally tuned cascaded triple-ring resonator to enable continuous wavelength tuning. The numerical simulations indicate that the proposed laser exhibits a tuning range of 64 nm with a sub-kHz linewidth, an SMSR of more than 80 dB, an output power of 24 mW and a linewidth of 193 Hz at 1550 nm. Furthermore, we perform comparative system-level simulations using QPSK and 16QAM coherent optical fiber links at 50 Gbaud over 100 km. Under identical conditions, when the laser linewidth is reduced from 1 MHz level to 193 Hz, the BER of 16QAM decreases from 1.5 × 10−3 to 5.3 × 10−5. These results indicate that a narrow linewidth effectively mitigates phase noise degradation in high-order modulation formats. With its narrow linewidth, wide tuning range, high SMSR, and high output power, this laser serves as a promising on-chip light source for high-resolution sensing and coherent optical communications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Signal Processing and System Integration for Next-Generation Optical Communication)
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12 pages, 2137 KB  
Article
Low Loss and Compact TE-Pass Polarizer on LNOI Platform with Subwavelength Grating Metamaterials
by Yingyi Liu, Chuang Cheng, Hongliang Chen, Yang Lan, Xin Fu and Lin Yang
Photonics 2026, 13(1), 64; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13010064 - 9 Jan 2026
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 533
Abstract
Polarization management is a key technique in integrated photonic circuits. In this paper, a low loss and compact TE-pass polarizer based on lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) platform is presented. By utilizing subwavelength grating (SWG) metamaterials and inverse design algorithm, the TE0 [...] Read more.
Polarization management is a key technique in integrated photonic circuits. In this paper, a low loss and compact TE-pass polarizer based on lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) platform is presented. By utilizing subwavelength grating (SWG) metamaterials and inverse design algorithm, the TE0 mode propagates through the SWG region with minimal loss, while the TM0 mode is efficiently coupled out and suppressed through shape-optimized algorithm, thereby achieving an expanded bandwidth of the polarization extinction ratio (PER). With a footprint of 66 μm, the polarizer exhibits low insertion loss (IL) < 0.174 dB and a PER > 10 dB over 176 nm (1465–1641 nm), reaching 33.2 dB at 1550 nm. Furthermore, the proposed polarizer demonstrates superior overall performance, along with promising potential for polarization management and mode conversion in high-performance LNOI-based integrated photonic systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Signal Processing and System Integration for Next-Generation Optical Communication)
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17 pages, 1796 KB  
Article
Optical Triple-Band Multiplexing Enabling Beyond-600 Gb/s Single-Photodiode Reception for Intra-AIDC Interconnects
by Ziheng Zhang, Yixiao Zhu, Xiang Cai, Xiansong Fang, Chenbo Zhang, Yimin Hu, Lingjun Zhou, Chongyu Wang, Fan Zhang and Weisheng Hu
Photonics 2026, 13(1), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13010011 - 24 Dec 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 785
Abstract
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) models including GPT, Gemini, and DeepSeek are reshaping embodied agents, temporal prediction, and autonomous driving, demanding a ten-fold annual growth in training FLOPS that Moore’s law can no longer sustain. Consequently, scale-out GPU clusters require >400 Gb/s lane-rate optical [...] Read more.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) models including GPT, Gemini, and DeepSeek are reshaping embodied agents, temporal prediction, and autonomous driving, demanding a ten-fold annual growth in training FLOPS that Moore’s law can no longer sustain. Consequently, scale-out GPU clusters require >400 Gb/s lane-rate optical interconnects within AI data-centers (AIDCs). Single-photodiode direct detection offers density, latency, and energy advantages, but DAC bandwidth remains limited to around 70 GHz. We present an optical triple-band multiplexing scheme that replaces high-frequency radio frequency (RF) mixers and local oscillators (LOs) with photonic components. A Mach–Zehnder modulator (MZM) generates 80-GBd PS-PAM-20 signal while an in-phase/quadrature (IQ) modulator driven by a wavelength-offset laser creates two independent 35-GBd PS-64-QAM bands. The proposed optical multiplexing method breaks conjugate symmetry and enhances dispersion tolerance of the direct detection system. After 200 m SSMF transmission and single 70-GHz photodiode (PD) detection, digital signal-signal beating interference (SSBI)/cross-beating compensation enables the recovery of net 543.9 Gb/s signal (line rate of 686.6 Gb/s) using only 45-GHz DACs. The optical multiplexing architecture provides a path to beyond-400 Gb/s lanes and demonstrates a scalable, energy-efficient solution for next-generation AI clusters. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Signal Processing and System Integration for Next-Generation Optical Communication)
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Review

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29 pages, 3987 KB  
Review
Physical Layer Security Techniques for Terahertz Communications Above 100 GHz: A Review
by Shenghong Ye, Ming Che, Yuya Mikami and Kazutoshi Kato
Photonics 2026, 13(1), 42; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13010042 - 31 Dec 2025
Viewed by 1278
Abstract
Terahertz (THz) communication above 100 GHz is widely recognized as a key enabler for sixth-generation (6G) networks because of its ultra-broad bandwidth and strong directionality. Meanwhile, the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence has considerably weakened conventional cryptographic methods at the network layer, making [...] Read more.
Terahertz (THz) communication above 100 GHz is widely recognized as a key enabler for sixth-generation (6G) networks because of its ultra-broad bandwidth and strong directionality. Meanwhile, the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence has considerably weakened conventional cryptographic methods at the network layer, making THz physical layer security increasingly critical. THz links are inherently susceptible to jamming and eavesdropping, which calls for dedicated security mechanisms that integrate physical structures with advanced signal processing. This review summarizes recent advances in two complementary directions. The first addresses signal domain strategies, including frequency hopping spread spectrum techniques, channel modeling, and artificial noise injection, to strengthen confidentiality and robustness against intentional interference. The second focuses on spatial domain strategies, where intelligent reflecting surfaces and beam steering architectures leverage topological diversity to reduce interception risks. This review also discusses the practical challenges these techniques may face in future 6G scenarios and identifies potential directions for further research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Signal Processing and System Integration for Next-Generation Optical Communication)
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