Scaling Comb-Driven Resonator-Based DWDM Silicon Photonic Links to Multi-Tb/s in the Multi-FSR Regime

The use of chip-based micro-resonator Kerr frequency combs in conjunction with dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) enables massively parallel intensity-modulated direct-detection (IM-DD) data transmission with low energy consumption. Resonator-based modulators and filters used in such systems can limit the number of usable wavelength channels due to practical constraints on the maximum achievable free spectral range (FSR). In this work, we introduce the design of multi-Tb/s comb-driven resonator-based silicon photonic links by leveraging the multi-FSR regime. We demonstrate the viability of the link architecture with yield estimates that are supported by extensive wafer-scale measurements of 704 micro-resonators fabricated in a commercial complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) foundry. We show that a 2.80 Tb/s link is realizable with a ≥ 6σ yield (~99.999%), and aggregate bandwidths of 3.76 Tb/s and 4.72 Tb/s are possible if yield targets are relaxed (3σ and 1σ respectively). All designs represent a 1.94—3.28× boost to aggregate link bandwidth while maintaining BER ≤ 10−10 performance, with a theoretical bandwidth of 10.51 Tb/s being possible for sufficiently robust resonators. We use high-speed BER measurements to inform co-optimization of data rate and aggressor spacing (λag), limiting any additional loss-based power penalties to off-resonance insertion loss (IL) and routing loss. This work demonstrates that, through the multi-FSR regime, there is a clear path toward Kerr comb-driven ultra-broadband, high bandwidth silicon photonic links that can support next-generation data centers and high performance computers.