Nonlinear pluggable optics: Digital signal processing-free Intensity Modulated Direct Detection links using analog photonic Next Generation Reservoir Computing

Nicholas Cox; Joseph Murray; Ross T. Schermer; Shuo S. Pang; Christopher Long; Gajadhar Joshi; Nicholas Nobile; Raktim Sarma; Brandon Redding

arXiv · 2606.14052

Nonlinear pluggable optics: Digital signal processing-free Intensity Modulated Direct Detection links using analog photonic Next Generation Reservoir Computing

Nicholas Cox·Joseph Murray·Ross T. Schermer·Shuo S. Pang·Christopher Long·Gajadhar Joshi·Nicholas Nobile·Raktim Sarma·Brandon Redding

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Abstract

In this work, we propose a Nonlinear Pluggable Optic (NLPO) transceiver that combines the low latency and low power consumption of Linear Pluggable Optics (LPO) with the range and robustness of digital signal processing (DSP)-based transceivers. The proposed NLPO uses an analog photonic Next-Generation Reservoir Computing (NGRC) architecture, constructed on a photonic integrated circuit (PIC), to compensate for electrical-domain distortions as well as optical-channel impairments from chromatic dispersion and Kerr nonlinearity. Focusing on a simulated 50 GBd PAM-4 link, we find that the NGRC-based NLPO not only extends the range of LPO, but actually outperforms DSP-based solutions as well. Our simulations reveal two key advantages compared to DSP-based Intensity Modulation/Direct Detection (IM/DD) links: (1) the NGRC can take advantage of the optical phase information without requiring a local oscillator and (2) the NGRC can optically sample the transmitted data well above the symbol rate without requiring high-bandwidth electronics. This work showcases the potential for photonic NGRCs to outperform state-of-the-art digital solutions in real-world applications and opens a path to low-latency, lower-power IM/DD links at ranges of 10s of km.

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Nicholas Cox, Joseph Murray, Ross T. Schermer, Shuo S. Pang, Christopher Long, Gajadhar Joshi, Nicholas Nobile, Raktim Sarma, Brandon Redding. 2026-06-12. Nonlinear pluggable optics: Digital signal processing-free Intensity Modulated Direct Detection links using analog photonic Next Generation Reservoir Computing. https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.14052

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