In this early phase the research focus of the nascent group was on optical
system receiver performance evaluation and POLSK (polarization modulation).
Between 1990 and 1995 strong ties were developed by the newly formed OptCom
Group and the Optical Network Research Laboratory (ONRL) of
Stanford University, led by
Prof. Leonid Kazovsky.
Pierluigi Poggiolini spent three years at Stanford working on two large and
pioneering optical network projects (STARNET
and CORD).
In 1995 Prof. Benedetto wrote one of the first books on modern optical
communications together with Prof. Kazovsky and Prof. Willner of
UCSB.
In the meantime, in 1992 the OptCom Group, in cooperation with the Optical
Components Group led by Prof. Ivo Montrosset, started assembling an optical
communications research laboratory at Politecnico di Torino.
Roberto Gaudino joined the group as a
graduate student in 1995. With his help the group made substantial progress in
its research on system performance evaluation and polarization modulation.
In 1996 the group started a collaboration with another strong US group, that of
Prof. Daniel
Blumenthal. Roberto Gaudino went to Georgia Tech for over a year to carry
out research in Prof. Blumenthal's group. He worked on another two pioneering
optical network projects called MOSAIC and OPERA.
In 1996 the OptCom Group was joined by Andrea
Carena and Vittorio Curri, as
graduate students. They too contributed to fostering the group's international
collaborations by spending a year (1998) in Prof. Kazovsky's and Prof.
Blumenthal's groups (the latter now located at
UCSB), respectively. They helped to further develop research within the
MOSAIC project and on all-optical packet label swapping.
Already in 1996, the group had decided to pursue an ambitious research project,
aimed at developing a highly optimized and accurate software for the simulation
and performance evaluation of optical transmission systems. Building on the very
strong Telecommunications Group expertise on computer simulation of radio and
satellite systems, the OptCom Group members were able to deliver the first
version of an optical-system specific software in 1997. The software was called
OptSim.
OptSim had outstanding speed and accuracy performance, at a time when the
booming WDM sector greatly needed such CAD/simulation tools. The group therefore
decided to try and commercialize the software, while keeping on developing it.
However, OptSim was an academic tool, not specifically conceived for ease of use
in an industrial environment. Acknowledging this fact, the group decided to join
forces with a Politecnico di Torino spin-off called Artis to turn up a
commercial version of the software. In 1997 a contract was signed between Artis
and Politecnico di Torino to this effect.
The first prototypal version of OptSim was presented at OFC in 1998. Sales began
shortly thereafter. Since then OptSim has steadily been number 2 worldwide in
sales, after only one other commercial tool developed by a German company that
operated on a totally different scale with VC funding in excess of 50 million
Euros.
Today, OptSim is the property of RSoft Incorporated, a renowned scientific
software company based in the US. The senior OptCom group members keep on
cooperating with RSoft to carry out research and development to make ever better
versions of OptSim.
Meanwhile, in 1996 Valter Ferrero had
joined the OptCom Group. His contributions have been manifold, but he has
specifically contributed to the expansion and upgrading of the experimental
capabilities of the group. He worked on several experimental projects, including
one spawned by the European Project CRABS and further funded by the Italian
National Broadcasting Corporation RAI. The project, called
MAPON,
led to the successful implementation and demonstration in 2000 of the optical
bi-directional distribution segment of an LMDS wireless broadband access
network.
In 1998 Pierluigi Poggiolini became an Associate Professor ("professore
associato") at Politecnico di Torino.
In 1998, Gabriella Bosco joined the
group as a graduate student. She too spent a year at UCSB with Prof. Blumenthal
(2000), working on the monitoring of PMD in ultra-high speed optical
transmission systems. Her analytical capabilities and scientific software
writing skills have enabled the group to carry out leading-edge research in the
field of performance evaluation and optimization of complex WDM systems in the
presence of dispersion and various non-linear effects.
A landmark project in the history of the group has been the analysis of the
system impact of Parametric Gain and Modulation Instability, a previously
inadequately explored topic. The research was carried out over the course of
three years (1997-1999) and led to conclusive results on the phenomenon. To
enable the analysis, an optical system performance estimation method based on
the Karhunen-Loeve series expansion was developed. This approach, pioneered by
the OptCom Group, has later been adopted by others, but still remains a
leading-edge technique which few groups master.
Between 1999 and 2000 Valter Ferrero and Roberto Gaudino became Assistant
Professors ("ricercatori") at Politecnico di Torino.
After 2000 the group has been involved in a number of research projects. These
include, among others:
the RINGO project, aimed at experimentally demonstrating
an optical WDM packet-switched ring network, later funded again as
WONDER
the OPLL project, focused on the experimental development
of an innovative optical phase-lock-loop
the "innovative modulation formats" project, a large
effort started as a contract with CISCO Photonics and encompassing several
new techniques for encoding information of the optical carrier, such as DPSK,
duobinary, various forms of RZ, etc.
the POF (Plastic
Optical Fiber) project, focusing on developing suitable transmission
techniques optimized for plastic fibers to enable broadband access over such
medium
Since late 2003 the OptCom Group has had access to a new large
state-of-the-art laboratory facility, called
PhotonLab. It was created as a
collaborative effort of various research groups, spearheaded by Prof. Sergio
Benedetto and Prof. Ivo Montrosset and funded by Politecnico di Torino and
by the Istituto Mario Boella (led by Prof.
Rodolfo Zich, a former President of Politecnico di Torino). PhotonLab has
also been awarded a 1.4 million grant from Politecnico di Torino over the
2003-2005 period.
In 2003 Andrea Carena and Vittorio Curri became Assistant Professors at
Politecnico di Torino.
Of late, the OptCom Group has undergone considerable expansion. To date, its
roster includes 7 senior members (staff and postdoc), 9 junior members
(graduate students), 3 collaborating staff from other groups and from the
Mario Boella Institute. A variable number (8-10) of undergrad students carry
out their Master Thesis Project within the OptCom Group, too.
Due to its increased size and organizational complexity, in late 2003 the
group has decided to give itself an internal management structure. All major
decisions are made by a Steering Committee made up of all the group staff
members. Sergio Benedetto is the group President and Pierluigi Poggiolini is
the Group Coordinator, with Roberto Gaudino as vice-Coordinator. Valter
Ferrero is the group laboratory facilities Director.
The group traditional international ties are being renewed:
Stefano Camatel, an OptCOm Group
graduate student spent over a year in 2003-2004 again at UCSB, whereas
another graduate student, Vito De Feo, is
currently at Stanford University, in Prof. Kazovsky's group. New ties are
being created as well: joint projects involving the exchange of graduate
students are being worked out with UPC
(Universitat Polytecnica de Catalunya), UCL
(University College London) and other European academic institutions.
Teaching Optical Communications at
Politecnico di Torino
Up until 1995 there was no class at Politecnico di Torino specifically
devoted to Optical Communications. In 1996 Prof. Benedetto and Pierluigi
Poggiolini started teaching a course in "Optical Communications".
Since then several different classes addressing the diverse aspects of
Optical Communications, at different Academic levels, have been created.
Currently, OptCom Group staff members teach 7 such classes, of which one is
at the undergrad level, three at the graduate level and 3 at the
post-graduate level.
In particular, since 2000, a specific
Master in
Optical Communications and Photonic Technologies has been created at
Politecnico di Torino. Its Scientific Coordinator has been Prof. Poggiolini
from the start and several group members are involved in teaching some of
its courses. A training lab, called LaDiOt, was specifically built to enable
Master students (and of late also students of other degrees) to carry out
hands-on training sessions. The lab director is Prof. Valter Ferrero.
Recent Developments
In 2004, the OptCom Group has become a partner, together with the
Telecommunications Network Group, in the
E-Photon/ONe FP6
network of excellence, funded by the European Commission. The network is
coordinated by Prof. Fabio Neri of the Telecommunications Network Group of Politecnico
di Torino and Prof. Poggiolini coordinates the E-Photon/ONe Department on
"Transmission Techniques for Broadband Networks". E-Photon/ONe has 38
partners, all leading research institutions and companies in the sector of
optical networking.
In May 2004 a MoU (memorandum of understanding) has been officially signed
among Politecnico di Torino, Istituto Mario Boella and
FastWeb s.p.a. This
agreement, negotiated and coordinated on the Politecnico side by the OptCom
Group Coordinator, sets up a framework of cooperation between PhotonLab and
FastWeb. In particular, FastWeb has given PhotonLab access to 240 km of dark
installed fiber in city of Torino for the purpose of conducting realistic
field-trials of new optical transmission concepts being researched at
PhotonLab, specifically by the OptCom Group. This fiber infrastructure is
unique in Italy and places PhotonLab and the OptCom Group at the forefront
of photonic system research in Italy.
