Project Name | FLEX-SCALE - Flexibly Scalable Energy Efficient Networking

Grant agreement ID | 101096909

Main Objective | Advance optical x-haul network technologies for flexible capacity scaling, achieving up to 10 Pb/s throughput per optical node.

Leader Entity | University of Patras

Start Date | 2023-01-01

End Date | 2025-12-31

Total cost | 4,884,278.75 €

FLEX-SCALE advances disruptive research on complementary optical x-haul (x = front/mid/back) network technologies for Optical Switching Nodes and their Transceiver Interfaces that enable flexible capacity scaling:

• 10 Tb/s rate per interface

• 1 Pb/s capacity per link

• 10 Pb/s throughput per optical node based on utilisation of ultra-high bandwidth photonic/plasmonic technologies and the efficient exploitation of optical spatial and spectral switching (UltraWide- Band Spectral & Spatial Lanes Multiplexing; UWB/SDM).

The developed x-haul 6G optical network innovations will achieve:

• record energy efficiency sub-pJ per switched/transmitted bit

• low cost, enabled by photonic integration and optical transparency, replacing/bypassing power-hungry and costly electronic processing systems (e.g., electronic routers/switches).

The Optical Nodes and their Transceiver Interfaces will be controlled by Machine Learning - enabled SDN control plane approaches that incorporate new resource allocation algorithms and protocols.

Relying on emerging information models and enabling autonomous programmable disaggregated open networks, which will optimize traffic flow routing across network layers and segments, improving network Quality of Service (high rates, low latency, high reliability/availability) and low cost/power consumption, as required by 6G specifications.