Data transmission rates from optical sources

A method, comprising:

• at an optical signal generator,
• producing, by a single laser, a continuous wave laser beam at a laser frequency;
• receiving a laser beam from the single laser at a micro-ring resonator, the single laser being tuned to the micro-ring resonator to generate a micro-comb spectrum of different carrier signals at different carrier frequencies;
• receiving and separating the different carrier signals into separate optical paths at an optical demultiplexer, respectively;
• at a pair of optical modulators respectively located in each separate optical path, respectively modulating an upper sideband and a lower sideband of each different carrier signal with respective data signals and producing a modulated upper and lower sideband pair at each of the different carrier frequencies;
• and
• at an optical multiplexer, combining the modulated upper and lower sideband pairs into an optical super-channel of interleaved sub-bands,
• transmitting the optical super-channel along a data transmission path;
• and
• at a coherent optical signal receiver,
• receiving the optical super-channel along the data transmission path;
• and
• extracting data signals from the interleaved sub-bands of the optical super-channel at a demodulator;
• wherein each pair of optical modulators are configured to use each carrier signal to transmit different data in each of the upper sideband and the lower sideband and thereby increase a capacity of the optical super-channel.

An optical signal generator, comprising:

• a coherent light source comprising a single laser that produces a continuous wave laser beam at a laser frequency and a micro-ring resonator that receives the laser beam from the single laser, the single laser being tuned to the micro-ring resonator to generate a micro-comb spectrum of different carrier signals at different carrier frequencies;
• an optical demultiplexer that receives and separates the different carrier signals into separate optical paths, respectively;
• a pair of optical modulators respectively located in each separate optical path to respectively modulate an upper sideband and a lower sideband of each different carrier signal with respective data signals and produce a modulated upper and lower sideband pair at each of the different carrier frequencies;
• and
• an optical interleaver to combine the modulated upper and lower sideband pairs into an optical super-channel of interleaved sub-bands;
• wherein each pair of optical modulators is configured to use each carrier signal to transmit different data in each of the upper sideband and the lower sideband and thereby increase a capacity of the optical super-channel.