Filterless Reception of Terabit, Faster Than Nyquist Superchannels with 4 GHz Electronics

Data transmission speeds in excess of 1 Terabit per second (Tbit/s) are predicted with the evolving needs of modern applications, ranging from new communication technologies to data intensive computing and emerging paradigms like internet-of-things and augmented reality. The bandwidth limitation of current electronics, however, may represent a critical challenge in achieving such high data rates. Here, we experimentally demonstrate how, with the help of photonics, a single faster than Nyquist (FTN) superchannel with a 3-dB bandwidth of 662.5 GHz and a data rate in excess of 1 Tbit/s can be detected and processed with just 4 GHz electronics. The method does not need any kind of filter, optical delay line, pulse source, electronic post processing or other sophisticated electronic or photonic equipment. It is simply based on orthogonal sampling in a Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) by sinc-pulse sequences. Therefore, it has the potential to be integrated into any photonic platform. The presented approach may be a straight-forward solution to meet the demands of future terabit communication and measurement systems with cost-effective, integrated devices.