Agile uLtra Low EnerGy secuRe netwOrks

Start Date: 01/01/2023
End Date: 30/06/2026
Website: https://www.allegro-he.eu/

ALLEGRO aims at designing and validating a novel end-to-end sliceable, reliable, and secure architecture for next-generation optical networks, achieving high transmission/switching capacity — with 10 Tb/s for optoelectronic devices and 1 Pbt/s for optical fiber systems –; low power consumption/cost — with > 25% savings — and secure infrastructures and data transfers.

The architecture relies on key enabling innovations:
i) smart, coherent transceivers exploiting multi-band & multi-fiber technologies for P2P and P2MP applications, based on e.g. high-speed plasmonic modulators/photodetectors and programmable silicon photonic integrated waveguide meshes;
ii) loss-less, energy-efficient transparent photonic integrated optical switches, eliminating OEO conversions, e.g. with on-chip amplification in the O-band for datacom applications;
iii) a consistent approach to security, in terms of functional/protocol architectures and communications, further improving QKD systems, enabling optical channel co-existence and researching on quantum-resistant (post-quantum) cryptography, developing systems based on physically unclonable functions;
iv) a scalable AI/ML assisted control and orchestration system, responsible for autonomous networking, dynamic and constrained service provisioning, function placement and resource allocation, leveraging devices increasing programmability and overall network softwarization.

To achieve the target objectives and KPIs, ALLEGRO has defined a transparent methodology ending in ambitious demonstrators. The consortium includes a good industry and research/academia balance with know-how in complementary fields.