Grant: Engage Plus Grants Program

The rapidly expanding introduction of advanced services in data centers, such as cloud computing andvirtualisation, is straining the bandwidth capabilities of traditional short-reach optical networks. Onetechnology that can increase the data transmission capacity between users and computing facilities isWavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM). AEPONYX inc. is offering such WDM passive optical network(PON) solutions to data centers and telecommunication service providers that enable the creation of highcapacity and flexible networks at an affordable cost. One of the key elements of AEPONYX technology is thatthe channel assignment in the network is done by adding a small plug containing a filter at the output of thetransmitter. This simple yet effective solution allows AEPONYX to produce an affordable and efficient system.However, the current solution puts limitations on the maximum transmission rate that can be achieved, and itrequires on-site interventions each time the network has to be reconfigured. To solve these issues, AEPONYXwants to continue the development of a silicon photonic integrated circuit (PIC) incorporating amicroelectromechanical system (MEMS) that can be used to perform wavelength selection in their nextgeneration of optical transceivers in a low-cost and compact implementation. Accordingly, AEPONYX wantsto continue collaboration with Prof. Frederic Nabki at UQAM. Prof. Nabki has extensive experience in thedesign and fabrication of MEMS devices and their integration in heterogeneous systems. This Engage Plusproject will continue work started in a previous Engage project on the rotational micro-mirror, its actuator andits actuation scheme, and propose new designs for implementation in a commercial and custom fabricationprocess. This project will provide a significant building block of AEPONYX's next generation WDM-PONequipment, and will strengthen its leadership market position. The innovative technologies resulting from thisproject will ultimately enable the implementation of novel network architectures and services by telecomoperators. This project will provide training for HQP including 2 master's students and 1 research associate.