Roadmap for low-cost optical regeneration

Future transparent networks require optical regeneration. The regeneration process of amplitude-modulated signals consists of three key stages: re-amplification, re-shaping, and re-timing. In this Paper we briefly review various optical clock recovery methods and propose a polarization insensitive low-cost scheme capable of resolving timing information simultaneously for multiple wavelength channels. We also discuss the prospects of low-cost volume production with integrated optics and especially with Si-photonics.