“Next-generation Heterogeneous Communications: Capacity, Flexibility, and Efficiency”
Tuesday, March 15 at 1:00pm
Via Zoom
Email communications@ece.ufl.edu for Zoom info

Abstract

Heterogeneous optical and wireless communication networks are pivotal to meet the ever-growing demand of high-throughput data traffic and diverse application scenarios. Versatile methodologies and system interface architectures need to be developed to deliver multiple services in different user environments. Free space optics, millimeter wave, and coherent optical communication enable high-capacity links for wireless users and data center communications, respectively. Moreover, next-generation high-capacity communication systems add more requirements on many aspects including flexibility, hardware or data efficiency, as well as reliability.
In this talk, I will introduce novel key technologies that address these challenges. I will begin by introducing data signal shaping, which optimizes the system throughput flexibly under heterogeneous channel condition and results in better network resource utilization. Next, I will address the system efficiency by performing trade-off analysis, cost-effective system architecture innovation and data-efficient digital signal processing algorithm design. Then I will illustrate efficient multiple-spectra operation and interleaved repetition mapping techniques to enhance the reliability of free space optics and millimeter wave links for outdoor environments. Finally, I will conclude the talk with future research opportunities. Overall, my research outcome contributes to flexible, efficient, and reliable high capacity optical and wireless communication systems.

Biography

Rui Zhang is currently a final-year PhD candidate at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. She is a project leader at the Fiber-Wireless Integration and Networking (FiWIN) Center for Heterogeneous Mobile Data Communications under the supervision of Prof. Gee-Kung Chang and Prof. Xiaoli Ma. In 2017, she received her B.S. degree in Electrical engineering from Peking University, Beijing, China. Rui Zhang was the recipient of the Fall 2017 Oscar P. Cleaver Award from the Georgia Tech, 2018-2020 Corning Stem Scholarship, Bell Labs Summer Intern Award for Outstanding Innovation, and top scored paper in Optical Fiber Communication Conference 2022. She has published 42 papers in prestigious IEEE and OSA journals and international conferences including 15 first-authored papers. Her research interests include Fiber-millimeter wave and optical wireless integrated transport system design, signal processing techniques in optical and wireless communication, and photonics device and noise modeling for high-capacity systems.