News

The IDLab Design group (UGent - imec) delivered an outstanding performance at the 51st European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC 2025), held from September 28 to October 2 in Copenhagen. As one of the leading research teams in next-generation optical transceiver technologies, IDLab showcased cutting-edge innovations through workshop invited talks, upgraded oral presentations, and a highly anticipated post-deadline paper.

Strong Presence Across ECOC 2025

IDLab’s contributions spanned multiple sessions, reflecting its leadership in high-speed optical transceivers and silicon photonics integration:

• Workshops
• Which modulator technology will dominate in next-generation transceivers?
  Presenter: Peter Ossieur
• High Symbol-rate Transceivers – how to get to the pinnacle of performance?
  Presenter: Xin (Scott) Yin
• Upgraded Oral Presentations
• 320 Gb/s Unamplified Transmission using 100 GHz Ge PD and TFLN MZM on a Foundry-Compatible SiPh Platform
  Presenter: Jakob Declercq
• 60 Gbaud NRZ Transmission with 0.94 pJ/b Direct-Drive Optical Transmitter Using SM 1060 nm VCSEL Over 5 km SMF
  Presenter: Arijit Karmakar
• Regular Papers & Posters
• An All-Silicon 4x56 Gbit/s NRZ, 1pJ/bit Optical Receiver with Ge-on-Si PDs and 28nm CMOS TIA Array
  Presenter: Bruno Govaerts
• A Co-Designed DC-Coupled 30-Gbps Burst-Mode Receiver and CDR with 3.2-ns Locking Time for Fast Optical Switching
  Presenter: Xin Wang

Post-Deadline Highlight

The team capped off the conference with a post-deadline paper unveiling a breakthrough in 400G IM/DD links:

• 110 GHz GeSi Electroabsorption Modulator on a 300mm SiPh Platform Enabling High-Density 400G/lane IM/DD Links
  Presenter: Cédric Bruynsteen

“ECOC 2025 was an incredible platform to share our latest advancements in silicon photonics and high-speed optical transceivers,” said Prof. Xin (Scott) Yin, Scientific Director at IDLab, imec - UGent. “It’s inspiring to see how collaboration between imec’s Optical I/O team and Photonics Research Group (PRG)/IDLab at UGent drives innovation forward.”

IDLab remains committed to advancing next-generation optical transceivers for future communication systems.