Memorial Advanced Research Laboratory for Optical and Wireless Communications (MARLOWC)


About | People | Location | Equipment 

About

The Advanced Optical and Wireless Research Laboratory hosts research students and postdoctoral fellows working under the supervision of Professors Octavia A. Dobre, Cheng Li, Telex M. N. Ngatched, and Ramachandran Venkatesan. They tackle important problems in wireless and optical communications systems, e.g., related to full-duplex transmission, non-orthogonal multiple access, computational task offloading, resource allocation, signal intelligence,optical performance monitoring, and fibre nonlinearity compensation.

The equipment in the Advanced Optical and Wireless Research Laboratory supports the testing of high-performancealgorithms developed by the research group, related but not limited to:

  • Spectrum monitoring and signal identification
  • Parameter estimation, signal detection, and interference cancellation
  • Optical performance monitoring
  • Fibre nonlinearity compensation

People

    • Wireless communications and networking
    • Optical communications
    • Underwater communications
    • Machine learning for communications and networking
    • Signal processing for communications
    • Wirelss sensor networks
    • Mobile ad hoc networks
    • Vehicular networks
    • Broadband communications networks
    • Wireless communications and mobile computing 
    • Parallel processing architectures and applications
    • Underwater communications
    • Error control codes
    • Digital design
    • Sensor networks
    • 5G and 6G enabling technologies
    • Optical wireless communications
    • Hybrid optical wireless and radio frequency communications
    • Artificial intelligence and machine learning for communications
    • Underwater communications

Location

CSF 4102
Core Science Facility
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's, NL

Equipment

Transmitter Side
Arbitrary Waveform Generator

Manufacturer: Tektronix

Model: AWG7002A

Specifications:

  • Generation of high baud rate analog IQ signals
  • Up to 25 Gsa/s sampling rate, wideband signals up to 20 GHz
  • 16 Gsample waveform memory (640 ms @25 Gsa/s)
  • 10 bits vertical resolution
Modulator RF driver (amplifier)

Manufacturer: Microsemi

Model: OA3MMQM

Specifications:

  • Amplify the analog signals generated by the AWG before driving the I/Q modulator
  • Quad channels
  • 5 Vpp output 
  • 20 dB gain small signal gain
  • 35-GHz
I/Q Modulator + evaluation board

Manufacturer: Teraxion

Model: IQM-CAA-E21

Specifications: 

  • Electro-optical conversion
  • High bandwidth (35 GHz)
  • Low optical insertion loss (12 dB)
  • Low switch-off voltage (2.5 V)
  • 20 dB extinction ratio

 

Transmission Medium
Single-Mode Optical Fibre (~20km)

Specifications:

  • Suitable for operation over the full optical spectrum from 1260-1625 nm
  • Low attenuation: less than 0.2 dB/km in 1550 nm
  • Dispersion coefficient smaller than 18 ps/(nm• km) in 1550 nm

 

Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier and Control Board

Specifications: 

  • APC or AGC control modes
  • Flat spectrum over the gain range of 15-30 dB
  • Output power up to 17dBm
  • Low noise figure
  • Low power dissipation

 

Recirculating Loop Control System

Specifications: 

  • Enable a very economical and flexible way to emulate transoceanic and terrestrial systems of multi-thousandkilometres
  • Wavelength band: 1528-1600nm

 

Receiver Side
Integrated coherent receiver (2)

Manufacturer: Finisar

Model: CPRV1222A

Specifications: 

  • Opto-electric conversion. Coherent detection of optical signals
  • OIF compliant
  • Supports up to 32 Gbaud symbol rate (100 Gb/s DP-QPSK or 200 Gb/s DP-16-QAM)
  • 25 GHz bandwidth on each lane
  • C-band
  • Automatic/manual gain control
  • Linear amplifier with peak detector output

 

Integrated coherent receiver (1)

Manufacturer: Neophotonics

Model: 1000025468

Specifications: 

  • Used as alternative ICR
  • OIF complaint
  • C-band
  • Supports up to 32 Gbaud symbol rate (100 Gb/s DP-QPSK or 200 Gb/s DP-16-QAM)

 

Integrated tunable laser assembly + evaluation board

Manufacturer: Pure Photonics

Mode: PPCL200, PPEB200

Specifications:

  • Local oscillator to ICR for coherent detection
  • Narrow linewidth (10 kHz)
  • Variable output power between 7 dBm and 18 dBm
  • Tunable wavelength over C and L bands

 

Digital Phosphorous Oscilloscope

Manufacturer: Tektronix

Model: DPO 72304DX

Specifications: 

  • Sampling signals for offline DSP
  • Up to 100 Gsa/s sampling rate
  • 4 channels with up to 1 G points record length
  • Up to 33 GHz bandwidth

 

Monitoring/Measuring
Optical spectrum analyzer

Manufacturer: Anritsu

Model: MS9740A

Specifications: 

  • Evaluate characteristics of optical signals (spectral width, OSNR, optical power level)
  • 600 nm–1750 nm wavelength measurement range
  • Dynamic range performance ≥60 dB (0.4 nm from peak wavelength)
  • 30 pm minimum resolution bandwidth
  • ±20 pm wavelength accuracy

 

 

Optical power meter

Manufacturer: EXFO

Model: FPM-600

Specifications: 

  • Optical power measurement
  • 800-1650 nm wavelength measurement range
  • -70-10 dBm input power range
  • ±0.01 dB resolution

 

RF power sensor/ meter

Manufacturer: Tektronix

Model: PSM3310

Specifications:

  • Average electrical power measurement; duty cycle corrected pulse measurement; measurement logging
  • 10 MHz – 18 GHz input frequency range
  • -55 dBm – 20 dBm dynamic input power range