Th4B.

1 OFC 2025 © Optica Publishing Group 2025

Net 3.2 Tbps 225 Gbaud PAM4 O-Band IM/DD 2 km

Transmission Using FR8 and DR8 with a CMOS 3 nm
SerDes and TFLN Modulators
Charles St-Arnault1 , Santiago Bernal1 , Derek Kita3 , Ross Dickson2 , Mariam Yehia Abdelaziz1 ,
Aleksandar Nikic1 , Benton Qiu1 , Benjamin Krueger4 , Fabio Pittalà4 , Christian Reimer3 , Bruce
Beggs2 , Naim Ben-Hamida2 and David V. Plant1
1 Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
2 Ciena Corporation, Ottawa, ON, Canada
3 HyperLight Corporation, Cambridge, MA, USA
4 Keysight Technologies Deutschland GmbH, Böblingen, Germany

[email protected]

Abstract: We report the first 3.2 and 4.2 Tbps (8×225Gbaud PAM4-8), IM/DD transmis-
sion system using FR8 and DR8 configurations with TFLN modulators driven by a 3nm
SerDes under the HD-FEC threshold. © 2025 The Author(s)
1. Introduction
The IEEE 802.3 standard significantly evolved over the past 50+ years. In the last 5 years, more transmission
speed standards were introduced than in the preceding 35 years [1]. This acceleration is driven by the growing
demand for higher data rates caused by AI data center mega projects. These data centers require scalable optics
with low power consumption, high reliability, and increased data rates. To achieve this, power consumption can be
improved by reducing DSP and transceiver complexity, utilizing more advanced CMOS nodes, and removing the
TEC, enabled by uncooled DFB lasers. Such lasers can be used if the wavelength division multiplexing (WDM)
grid can tolerate sizable laser wavelength drift, as is the case with the 20 nm spaced coarse-WDM (CWDM), or
if a parallel single-mode fiber (SMF) transmission architecture is used (e.g., DR8). Due to chromatic dispersion
(CD) and its impact on the expanding signaling bandwidths (e.g., 224 Gbaud), WDM grids are increasingly
confined to narrower channel spacings, rendering the use of uncooled DFB lasers impractical, especially for
distances larger than 2km [2]. In contrast, parallel SMF transmission architectures can use 1 or 2 lasers for
8 channels operating near the zero dispersion wavelength, minimizing the impacts of CD while improving
transceiver reliability [3], and can operate uncooled, reducing power consumption. Last year, we demonstrated
1.6 Tbps at 2km using 160 Gbaud PAM8 on four wavelengths (1.6TBASE-FR4) [4]. This year, enabled by DAC
225 Gbaud 3 nm Tx DSP Rx DSP
a) SerDes RC Pulse-Shaping Synchronization
Pre-Emphasis DFE + 1-tap MLSE
DFB Clipping BER Calculation
1295.56nm 110 GHz
DEMUX PD
1297.80nm 2 or 5 km SMF Keysight RTO
TFLN
1300.05nm MZM 1
1302.31nm
QD SOA
1304.58nm
Optical 225 Gbaud PAM4
1306.85nm c)
1309.14nm TFLN
1311.43nm MZM 2
3
MUX
Amplitude

3 nm
b) 225 Gbaud
1

SerDes
QD DFB x x -1

8x -3

1310nm 0.5 or 2 km
Keysight RTO -4.4 -3.6 -2.7 -1.8 -0.9 0 0.9 1.8 2.7 3.6 4.4
TFLN DR8 PIC SMF Time (ps)
Fig. 1: (a) The 8-WDM experimental setup used to emulate the 8 channel system. As shown, the channel under test (CUT ; 1295.56 nm) is
modulated separately from the remaining 7 channels. Data collection is achieved by iterating the CUT through all 8 channels. (b) The DR8
experimental setup. A TFLN PIC containing 8 parallel MZMs is used. Data collection is achieved by iterating through all 8 fiber outputs. (c)
Received optical 225 Gbaud PAM4 eye diagram with DFE as Rx equalizer.

This Article © 2025 The Author(s) Disclaimer: Preliminary paper, subject to publisher revision
 Th4B.1 OFC 2025 © Optica Publishing Group 2025

and thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) Mach Zehnder modulator (MZM) advancements, we demonstrate 3.2 and
4.2 Tbps with 225 Gbaud PAM4 and PAM8 using 8 wavelengths (3.2TBASE-FR8) at 2km and 8 parallel SMF
channels (3.2TBASE-DR8+) at 500m and 2km. For the 8-WDM demonstration, we use an 8-channel 400 GHz
spaced WDM grid starting and ending at 1295.56 and 1311.43 nm, respectively. For the DR8 demonstration,
we use a 23 dBm, 1310 nm uncooled quantum dot (QD) DFB laser feeding 2×4 channels, improving reliability
and power consumption. We evaluate the performance of feed-forward equalizers (FFE), decision-feedback
equalizers (DFE), and maximal-likelihood sequence estimation (MLSE) for the 448 Gbps/lane standards to
address impairments such as CD and bandwidth (BW) limitations, as discussed by the 800G MSA group [5].
2. Experimental setup
Fig. 1 (a) shows the experimental setup and DSP stacks used in the 8-WDM experiment. We generate 218 symbols
by Marsenne Twister, resample them to match the 2-channel 3 nm CMOS SerDes’s 225 GSa/s sampling rate and
apply pre-emphasis to the signal to compensate for the RF connections and the SerDes’s DAC frequency response.
This DAC has a 6 dB BW > 110 GHz, a 7-bit resolution, a differential output voltage of 600 mVpp and inductive
peaking at 100 GHz. Clipping is applied to optimize the peak to average power ratio (PAPR). Both PAM4(8)-
coded signals are digitally delayed to decorrelate the symbols. Two packaged single-ended TFLN MZMs featuring
a > 110 GHz 3 dB electro-optic bandwidth and 2 V low-MHz Vπ are used to best emulate a real 8-WDM system.
The first driving signal is amplified by a 105 GHz 3 dB BW Anritsu AH15199B RF amplifier and modulates the
channel under test (CUT), while the second driving signal is amplified by a 100 GHz 3 dB BW SHF T850C RF
amplifier and bulk modulates the combined remaining 7 wavelengths. As shown on the left of Fig. 1 (a), eight
9 dBm DFB lasers spectrally arranged on a 400 GHz spaced WDM grid spanning from 1295.56 nm to 1311.43
nm are used. The modulated optical signals from MZM1 (CUT) and MZM2 are combined onto a single fiber
using a 50/50 optical coupler. The CUT is iterated through all 8 channels, and at all times, 8 modulated signals
are propagating through the fiber. The combined optical signals then travel through 2 or 5km of SMF. A QD SOA
[6] is used to compensate for excessive optical losses, reduce the laser launch power requirements and eliminates
the need for an RF driver or TIA after the photo-detector (PD). The CUT is selected using a demultiplexer and
converted into an electrical signal by a 110 GHz PD. The received signal is then sampled by a 110 GHz Keysight
real-time oscilloscope (RTO), resampled to 2 samples per symbol and synchronized. Next, a DFE followed by a
1-tap MLSE is applied. The equalized symbols are then mapped back to a binary sequence and compared to the
transmitted sequence to calculate the BER. Fig. 1 (b) shows the DR8 experimental setup. The same Tx and Rx
DSP stacks are used. A 23 dBm QD DFB laser feeds all 8 (> 110 GHz 3 dB BW) 4.5 V differential Vπ MZMs
on the DR8 PIC via two 1x4 power splitter MMI circuits. The TFLN DR8 PIC features 11 bonded monitor PDs.
Each MZM is modulated one at a time by a differential output from the DAC and amplified by two SHF T850C
amplifiers. Crosstalk between adjacent MZMs was measured, and was not detected on the RTO. The measured
channel is selected by choosing the appropriate output fiber and measurements are repeated on all 8 modulators.
The modulated optical signal then travels through 2km of SMF and is converted to an electrical signal by a 110
GHz PD. This electrical signal is amplified by an Anritsu AH15199B amplifier and sampled by the Keysight RTO.
3. Results and discussion
Fig. 2 (a)-(c) contain the single wavelength experimental results obtained with the setup in Fig. 1 (a) without
multiplexers and optical amplifier. Fig. 2 (a) presents the PAM4 (solid) and PAM8 (dashed) results for 4 receiver
equalizers: FFE, DFE and each combined with 1-tap of MLSE. Non-linear symbol decision and sequential based
equalizers were selected to combat inter-symbol interference caused by BW limitations and the colored noise in
our system, where the noise PSD of the Keysight RTO peaks at 110 GHz. Linear equalizers used on signals with
high BW limitations, shown in Fig. 2 (f), further exacerbate noise coloration, degrading transmission performance,
as shown in Fig. 2 (a) where the FFE has a BER 8.5x higher than the DFE for 225 Gbaud PAM4. Adding a single
tap of MLSE to the FFE reduces the BER by 4x. For symbol rates > 187 Gbaud, the DFE performs better than FFE
+ 1-tap MLSE. At 225 Gbaud PAM4, the DFE equalizer achieves a BER under the 7% overhead (OH) HD-FEC
threshold giving a net rate of 420.5 Gbps. Adding one tap of MLSE to the DFE reduced the BER by 6.4x at symbol
rates greater than 200 Gbaud, enabling 212.5 Gbaud PAM4 under the 5.8% OH KP4-FEC, for a net rate of 401.7
Gbps. Similar trends in equalizer performance are observed for PAM8, although, stricter SNR requirements make
DFE perform worse when compared to FFE + 1-tap MLSE due to error propagation sensitivity. Notwithstanding,
when paired with 1-tap MLSE, the DFE achieves 225 Gbaud PAM8 under the 20% OH SD-FEC giving a net
rate of 562.5 Gbps. Fig. 2 (b) shows the BER versus received optical power (ROP) for 225 Gbaud PAM4. The
BER slopes for the DFE-based equalization schemes show a larger slope with decreasing ROP indicating the error
propagation sensitivity of DFE equalizers. At ≤4.5 dBm, the FFE + 1-tap MLSE begins to outperform the DFE.
Considering these results, the DFE + 1-tap MLSE was the chosen receiver equalizer for the 8-channel experiments.
Fig. 1 (c) shows an optical 225 Gbaud PAM4 eye diagram using DFE and 10 waveform averages. Fig. 2 (d) shows
the PAM4 and PAM8 8-WDM results at 2km. For both PAM formats, the edge-most channel (1295.56 nm) suffers
the most CD and thus performs worse. All 8 wavelengths achieve net 420.5 Gbps with 225 Gbaud PAM4 under

Disclaimer: Preliminary paper, subject to publisher revision

 Th4B.1 OFC 2025 © Optica Publishing Group 2025

a) PAM4 & PAM8 | Single Wavelength b) ROP Sweep | 225 Gbaud PAM4 c) 5
3 nm SerDes DAC S21 & MZM E-O S21
SD-FEC 25% 3 nm SerDes DAC
SD-FEC 20% SD-FEC 25%
Differential DR8
10
-2
SD-FEC 20% 3 Sim. Differential DR8
HD-FEC Single Ended MZM

S21 (dB)
-3 o-FEC Sim. Single Ended MZM
1
10 10-2
BER

BER
KP4-FEC 0
PAM4 HD-FEC
10-4 PAM8
-1
FFE FFE
-5 FFE + 1-tap MLSE FFE + 1-tap MLSE -3
10
DFE
DFE + 1-tap MLSE
10-3 DFE
DFE + 1-tap MLSE
-5
112 125 137 150 162 175 187 200 212 225 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 0 20 40 60 80 100
Baud Rate (GBaud) Received Optical Power (dBm) Frequency (GHz)
PAM4 & PAM8 | 8-WDM | 2 km PAM4 & PAM8 | 8-WDM | 5 km
f) Received RF Spectrum at 5 km
d) e)

Received RF Sprectrum (dB)

SD-FEC 25% SD-FEC 25% 5
SD-FEC 20% SD-FEC 20%
-2 o-FEC -2 o-FEC 0
10 HD-FEC 10 HD-FEC

-3 -3 -5 1295.56
10 10
BER

BER
KP4-FEC KP4-FEC 1297.80
-10 1300.05
-4 -4
10 PAM4 PAM8 10 PAM4 PAM8 1302.21
1295.56 1304.58 1295.56 1304.58
-15 1304.58
10-5 1297.80 1306.85 10-5 1297.80 1306.85
-20
1306.85
1309.14
1300.05 1309.14 1300.05 1309.14
1302.21 1311.43 1302.21 1311.43 1311.43
-25
112 125 137 150 162 175 187 200 212 225 112 125 137 150 162 175 187 200 212 225 0 20 40 60 80 100
Baud Rate (GBaud) Baud Rate (GBaud) Frequency (GHz)
g) PAM4 & PAM8 | DR8 | 500 m h) PAM4 & PAM8 | DR8 | 2 km i) PAM4 225 Gbaud | DR8 | 500 m
SD-FEC 25% SD-FEC 25%
SD-FEC 20% SD-FEC 20% 0 30°C 45°C 65°C 85°C

Power (dBm)
10-2 HD-FEC 10-2 HD-FEC -20

-40

10-3 10-3

4.5 10-3
1308.3 1310.6 1313 1315.7 MZM1
BER

BER

BER
KP4-FEC KP4-FEC -60
Wavelength (nm) MZM2
HD-FEC
-4 -4 MZM3
10 PAM4 PAM8 10 PAM4 PAM8 MZM4
MZM1 MZM5 MZM1 MZM5 MZM5
MZM2 MZM6 MZM2 MZM6
10-5 MZM3 MZM7 10
-5
MZM3 MZM7
MZM6
MZM7
MZM4 MZM8 MZM4 MZM8 MZM8

112 125 137 150 162 175 187 200 212 225 112 125 137 150 162 175 187 200 212 225 30 45 65 85
Baud Rate (GBaud) Baud Rate (GBaud) DFB Temperature (°C)
Fig. 2: (a) BER vs symbol rate for single wavelength PAM4 and PAM8 at back-to-back distance comparing FFE, FFE + 1-tap MLSE, DFE and
DFE + 1-tap MLSE receiver equalizers. (b) BER vs received optical power (ROP) for 225 Gbaud PAM4 with the 4 tested receiver equalizers.
(c) S21 of the 3 nm SerDes DAC, differential DR8 and single ended MZMs. (d)-(e) BER vs symbol rate for 8-WDM PAM4 and PAM8 at (d)
2km and (e) 5km. (f) Received RF spectrum for the 8-WDM transmission at 5km showing CD-induced power fading and dips. (g)-(h) BER vs
symbol rate for DR8 PAM4 and PAM8 at (g) 500m and (h) 2km. (i) BER vs uncooled DFB laser temperature for 225 Gbaud PAM4 at 500m.
the 7% HD-FEC threshold giving an aggregate rate of 3.36 Tbps. For PAM8, all wavelengths achieve net rates of
540 Gbps with 225 Gbaud PAM8 under the 25% OH SD-FEC threshold giving an aggregate rate of 4.32 Tbps. At
5km, the accumulated CD on the edge channels, as shown in Fig. 2 (f), increase the BER for 225 Gbaud PAM4
above the HD-FEC. Assuming the same FEC threshold for all channels, the best achieved net rate is 375 Gbps
with 225 Gbaud PAM4 under the 20% SD-FEC threshold giving an combined rate of 3.0 Tbps. Using PAM8, a
combined rate of 3.84 Tbps is achieved with 200 Gbaud PAM8 under the 25% SD-FEC threshold.
Fig. 2 (g) and (h) show the PAM4 and PAM8 Table 1: Summary of achieved net data rates
DR8 results at 500m and 2km respectively. With BER FEC Symbol Rate / Net Rate Aggregate Rate
225 Gbaud PAM4, net 420.5 Gbps was achieved Threshold Overhead Modulation Format (Gbps) (Tbps)
under the 7% OH HD-FEC threshold, giving an Single Wavelength (1310 nm) B2B
4.5 × 10−3 7% 225 Gbaud / PAM4 420.5 -
aggregate rate of 3.36 Tbps for both distances. 2.4 × 10−2 20% 225 Gbaud / PAM8 562.5 -
These results were taken with the laser tempera- DR8 (500m), DR8+ and 8-WDM (2km)
ture at 40°C. With 225 Gbaud PAM8, net 540 4.5 × 10−2−3 7% 225 Gbaud / PAM4 8 × 420.5 3.36
5 × 10 25% 225 Gbaud / PAM8 8 × 540 4.32
Gbps was achieved under the 25% OH SD-FEC
8-WDM (5km)
threshold yielding an aggregate rate of 4.32 Tbps 2.4 × 10−3 20% 225 Gbaud / PAM4 8 × 375 3.0
for both distances. Fig. 2 (i) shows the BER ver- 5 × 10−2 25% 200 Gbaud / PAM8 8 × 480 3.84
sus DFB laser temperature at 225 Gbaud PAM4 at 500m for 30°C to 85°C. At all temperatures, the BER remains
under the HD-FEC, showing uncooled operation across a 55°C range. At 30°C, the wavelength is 1308.3 nm and
at 85°C, the wavelength is red shifted to 1315.7 nm complying with the 200 Gbps/lane DR8 carrier wavelength
specification [7]. BER fluctuations are caused by the laser power varying by 0.8 dBm.
4. Conclusion
A first demonstration of 2km 225 Gbaud PAM4-8 for 3.2-4.2 Tbps IM/DD using 8-WDM and DR8 configurations.
References
1. IEEE Standards Association, Ethernet Through the Years: Cele- 5. D. Che et al., IEEE JLT, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 588–605, 2024.
brating the Technology’s 50th Anniversary. 6. C. St-Arnault et al., IEEE JLT, vol. 43, no. 4, pp. 1915–1925,
2. C. St-Arnault et al., “Practical Fiber Dispersion-Induced Limita- 2025.
tions for 1.6 Tbps (4×400Gbps/λ ) O-Band IM/DD Transmission 7. IEEE P802.3dj 200 Gb/s, 400 Gb/s, 800 Gb/s, and 1.6 Tb/s Eth-
Systems Over 2, 10, 20 and 40 km,” IEEE JLT, 2024. ernet Task Force, Baseline proposals for 200G/L PMD specifica-
3. C. Xie et al., OFC2022, Th2A.1 (2022). tions for single wavelength 500m and 2km standards.
4. C. St-Arnault et al., OFC2024, Th4C.6 (2024).

Disclaimer: Preliminary paper, subject to publisher revision