Optical likelihood calculation for quadrature phase-shift keying signal based on silicon integrated waveguide

All-optical likelihood calculation has the potential to improve the performance of operating speed and power consumption in future communication systems. The author previously proposed a novel scheme of likelihood calculation, which is capable of applying multi-value modulation. However, these studies have a limitation that requires higher integration into an actual system. In this study, an optical device of likelihood calculation for a 4-bit quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) modulated signal (i.e. two sequential QPSK symbols) is demonstrated. The integrated device consists of two delayed interferometers with silicon waveguide. The device is designed according to the types of 4-bit code string as follows (00 00), (00 11), (11 00), and (11 11), and the output light waveform from the device is observed by an oscilloscope for a plurality of 4-bit QPSK signals. The light intensity obtained from the device accurately corresponds to the Hamming distance between the code string and the input signal. The results indicate that the proposed scheme correctly calculates a likelihood for a 4-bit QPSK signal at 10 Gbaud.