Research area
Technology transfer
Integrated Photonics
The mission of the integrated photonics area is research and innovation in the field of integrated photonic devices and circuits on different technological platforms, from the most traditional such as silicon or silicon nitride, to the most emerging such as thin-film lithium niobate or two-dimensional materials such as graphene. The focus is on continuously surpassing the state of the art through the design and experimental demonstration of photonic devices and circuits integrating new features to improve efficiency, speed, power consumption and costs compared to traditional solutions. The field of application is wide: high-speed optical interconnects for telecommunications and/or artificial intelligence, photonic circuits for quantum communication, computation or simulation, generation and transmission of sub-THz signals for communication or very high-resolution sensors. The integrated photonics research group is constantly involved in international and national cutting-edge research projects, as well as having collaborative relationships with important national and foreign companies in the telecom, quantum and automotive sectors. Researchers of the integrated photonics area are experienced integrated photonics designers who can provide solutions for different applications through the most advanced simulation tools. The laboratory available to the group is equipped with the necessary instrumentation for experimental validation of the performance of the designed devices and circuits, both at the level of individual chips and wafers, even in a relevant environment.
High capacity and secure optical communications
The research area called “High capacity and secure optical communications (HC&SOC)” has historically dealt with optical communication systems with high transmission capacity and, recently, has broadened its horizons to include the very current and sensitive issue of security. The substantial mission of the research area is to provide solutions for the physical layer that allow to maximize data transfer efficiency and, at the same time, increase services for the upper layers. Consequently, as regards communication, the topics include the study and implementation of systems that use advanced modulation formats aimed at increasing transmission capacity and minimizing complexity and power consumption. Such systems are conceived and designed to satisfy the various and variable needs of the different segments of the network that include transport but reach up to access and even interconnection. At the same time, the area studies and develops techniques and technologies to increase the contribution of the physical layer to network security. In particular, the area focuses on the concept of subsystem fingerprinting used for identification but also for authentication and monitoring. The interaction with the design aspects of optical integrated devices on the one hand and the collaboration with the areas of networks and the one dealing with information theory, contribute to making the approach to the problems efficient, structured and substantial.
Both activities include the study, modeling, design through simulation support, up to the experimental validation carried out within the PNTLab or even, when possible, directly in the field.
Microwave photonics
The mission of this research area is the exploitation of photonics in microwave systems, thus developing advanced systems showcasing flexibility, efficiency, and superior performance. Examples of functionalities brought by photonics include low-loss transmission of RF/mm-wave signals (radio-over-fiber), controllable phase shifting or true-time delay for beamforming antennas, generation of high-frequency and low-noise reference signals up to the Terahertz region, tunable RF filtering across ultra-broad bands, reconfigurable frequency conversion from/to intermediate frequencies (below few GHz) to/from several tens of GHz. These and other functions can find application in wireless communication systems, as well as radars and other RF sensing systems, in both terrestrial and space sectors.
The competences of the group include accurate optical and RF system design and simulation, design and realization of demonstrators, including the design and fabrication of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) exploiting multiple technological platforms and hybrid approaches (i.e., integrated solutions combining multiple PICs), assembling of PICs into evaluation boards as well as hermetic packages, and interfacing of photonics with RF/mm-wave input/output ports.
Photonics for optical sensig and connectivity
The research area called “High capacity and secure optical communications (HC&SOC)” has historically dealt with optical communication systems with high transmission capacity and, recently, has broadened its horizons to include the very current and sensitive issue of security. The substantial mission of the research area is to provide solutions for the physical layer that allow to maximize data transfer efficiency and, at the same time, increase services for the upper layers. Consequently, as regards communication, the topics include the study and implementation of systems that use advanced modulation formats aimed at increasing transmission capacity and minimizing complexity and power consumption. Such systems are conceived and designed to satisfy the various and variable needs of the different segments of the network that include transport but reach up to access and even interconnection. At the same time, the area studies and develops techniques and technologies to increase the contribution of the physical layer to network security. In particular, the area focuses on the concept of subsystem fingerprinting used for identification but also for authentication and monitoring. The interaction with the design aspects of optical integrated devices on the one hand and the collaboration with the areas of networks and the one dealing with information theory, contribute to making the approach to the problems efficient, structured and substantial.
Both activities include the study, modeling, design through simulation support, up to the experimental validation carried out within the PNTLab or even, when possible, directly in the field.
Photonic Networks Techniques
The Photonic Network Techniques research area focuses on the development of advanced technologies for optical networks, aiming to enhance the capacity, flexibility, and reliability of telecommunications infrastructure. Activities are centered on the automation of disaggregated optical networks through open standards such as OpenConfig and OpenROADM, the dynamic management of transmission parameters, and the optimization of optical transport for low-latency applications.
A key aspect of the research is the development of advanced monitoring systems based on telemetry, capable of detecting and predicting optical failures using Quality of Transmission (QoT) estimation techniques. The area is actively involved in major national and European projects, such as B5G-OPEN, SEASON, and ALLEGRO, contributing to innovation in next-generation networks.
The reference laboratory for the Photonic Network Techniques area is dedicated to the experimentation and validation of advanced solutions for optical networks, with a strong focus on automation, performance optimization, and real-time monitoring. The infrastructure includes a 500 km optical transmission system with optical amplifiers, four ROADMs (Reconfigurable Optical Add-Drop Multiplexers), and Edgecore switches equipped with 400Gb/s transceivers.
This setup enables the testing and validation of dynamic optical routing algorithms, Quality of Transmission (QoT) optimization, automated optical resource management, and fault detection through advanced telemetry. The laboratory also supports experimentation with disaggregated networks and SDN-based solutions for software-driven control of optical infrastructure.
Optical Networks and Services
The Optical Networks and Services research area explores the use of software-defined technologies and artificial intelligence for the management and security of optical telecommunications networks. The goal is to develop flexible and programmable network architectures, improving resilience and resource allocation efficiency. Activities include developing solutions for detecting cyberattacks in programmable networks (P4/SDN), optimizing latency in optical infrastructures with edge/cloud resources, and integrating AI—both in centralized and distributed modes—for network control and management. Additionally, new methodologies for network automation are explored to ensure adaptive management of digital infrastructures.
The area is actively involved in European projects such as BRAINE, CLEVER, DESIRE6G, SMARTEDGE, NATWORK, 6G-LEADER, GUARDAI, and SMARTY. It also collaborates with leading ICT companies—including ITALTEL, NVIDIA, and DELL—to integrate advanced AI and networking technologies.
The laboratory focuses on research and development of programmable and secure network architectures, leveraging software-defined technologies and AI. The infrastructure includes servers equipped with GPUs and DPUs, as well as P4-programmable switches with high-speed optical interfaces, enabling the development and testing of advanced network management algorithms on hardware-accelerated platforms.
Laboratory activities include real-time detection and mitigation of cyberattacks, AI-driven network traffic optimization, and the automation of optical network functions in edge/cloud environments. The setup also enables testing of new methodologies for network slicing, SDN orchestration, and software-driven control of telecommunications infrastructure.
Networks of embedded systems
The research area “Network of Embedded Systems” (NoES), focuses on large-scale digital infrastructures exploiting the features of the fully equipped ICT testbed located at the port of Livorno for the testing of final transport and logistics applications.
NoES systems and subsystems range from embedded system prototypes to digital platforms and end-user applications in the form of demos or proof-of-concepts in the field of TLC, logistics, land mobility and navigation.
The strategy of the NoES research area focuses on three main pillars:
- Participation in standardization;
- Framing of solutions and subsystems in a standard reference architecture;
- Validation of high TRL solutions in real scenarios.
The NoES reference architecture is a canonical cloud that keeps the Infrastructure, Platform and Software as a Service layers separated. Following the “Engineer-to-Order” (ETO) paradigm, the NoES research area analyzes the requirements and needs of the final application, as well as the technical background and state-of-the-art solutions, in order to develop an innovative solution that integrates innovation elements in the various cloud layers.
- The stack has heterogeneous sources of information regarding:
Availability of data (port and marine weather) from R&D projects developed by CNIT/Port Authority; - Port monitoring network (5 HD cameras) and data from sensors installed in the port area (bathymetric probes, weather stations and anemometers, current meters and wave meters, …);
- High-resolution GNSS signal correction network (Real-Time Kinematics).
It also has a private 5G millimeter-wave network for the acquisition and transport of IoT data. Our reference framework lends itself to interoperability/standards compliance verification campaigns of candidate embedded systems and software solutions.
