Students: Meer Sakib (PhD) and Monireh Moayedi(PhD)

There is a consensus that deploying advanced error-correction technologies such as low-density parity check (LDPC) codes in optical links is one of the most cost-effective methods to combat system impairments. Although LDPC codes can be very powerful in theory, their practical implementation for optical communications links at ultra-high data rates remains a challenge since the decoding of the code requires complex structures and a large silicon area for integrated on-chip products. My present work focuses on the development of an optical front-end for the practical implementation of these codes.
Specifically, the investigation my investigation include: i) Development and simulation of suitable LDPC error correction codes for next-generation optical networks, ii) Analysis of the impairments of the fiber distributed system on decoding performance, and iii) FPGA implementation of the coder/decoder modules.

Fig. Output of the soft decision circuit (Source: M. Sakib, V. Mahalingam, W. Gross and O. Liboiron-Ladouceur, "Optical Front-end for Soft Decision LDPC Codes in Optical Communication Systems," IEEE/OSA Journal of Optical Communications and Networking (JOCN), Vol. 3, No. 6, pp. 533-541, June 2011 (Top downloaded paper in June/July in JOCN, selected for the “Spot Light in Optics” publication).