Allegro

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

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About ALLEGRO ‘Agile ultra low energy secure networks’

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:

  1. 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;
  2. 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;
  3. 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; and
  4. 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 clear methodology ending in ambitious demonstrators. The consortium includes a good balance of industry and research/academia with know-how in complementary fields.

      The results of ALLEGRO will be disseminated in leading conferences, events, and high-impact journals. They will have a concrete and measurable economic and social impact, contributing towards achieving key European objectives, reinforcing European leadership and digital sovereignty in the ongoing digital and green transition.

      Project News

      Integrating CV-QKD with Classical Channels: Insights from ICTON 2024

      Sep 5, 2025

      We are pleased to showcase our invited paper at ICTON 2024: Masab Iqbal, Michela Svaluto Moreolo, Arturo Villegas, Laia Nadal, and Raul Muñoz“Continuous Variable Quantum Key Distribution Coexisting with Classical Channels,” ICTON 2024.🔗 Access the paper:...

      ICTON 2024 Invited Paper: Integrating CV-QKD into Optical Networking

      Sep 5, 2025

      We are delighted to share our invited contribution presented at ICTON 2024: Michela Svaluto Moreolo, Masab Iqbal, Arturo Villegas, Laia Nadal, and Raul Muñoz,“On the Adoption of Continuous-Variable QKD in Optical Networks”, ICTON 2024.🔗 Access the presentation:...

      CLEO 2024: Resonant Plasmonic Modulator for 250 GHz Applications

      Sep 5, 2025

      We are proud to present our innovation showcased at CLEO 2024: Boris Vukovic, David Moor, Yuriy Fedoryshyn, Michael Baumann, Tobias Blatter, Daniel Chelladurai, Mohamed Eleraky, Hua Wang, and Juerg Leuthold“Microwave Resonant Plasmonic Modulator for Sub-THz...

      OFC 2024 Featured Paper: 256 GBd BTO-on-SiN Mach-Zehnder Modulator

      Sep 5, 2025

      We are excited to announce our recent presentation at OFC 2024: Manuel Kohli, Daniel Chelladurai, Laurenz Kulmer, Killian Keller, Yannik Horst, Tobias Blatter, Joel Winiger, David Moor, Tatiana Buriakova, Michael Zervas, Clarissa Convertino, Felix Eltes, Yuriy...

      New Review Published: Plasmonic Electro-Optic Modulators

      Sep 4, 2025

      We’re pleased to feature this detailed review article in IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics: J. Smajic & J. Leuthold, “Plasmonic Electro-Optic Modulators – A Review,” IEEE JSTQE, Vol. 30, No. 4 (2024).🔗 Access the article here:...