Guillermo von Hünefeld, senior researcher at the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI), successfully completed his dissertation entitled “Neuromorphic Photonics for Modulation Format Identification and Signal Equalization in Optical Communication Systems” at the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin) with the final mark “magna cum laude” in March 2026.
In his dissertation, Guillermo von Hünefeld explored the use of photonic neuromorphic networks, which are modeled on the functioning of the human brain, for applications in optical communication systems. As the demand for network capacity grows exponentially due to streaming, artificial intelligence, and social media, optical transmission systems face the challenge of providing higher bandwidths with lower latency and reduced energy consumption. The use of coherent receivers with energy-intensive digital signal processing (DSP) incurs significant costs. This work demonstrates that neural networks based on photonic integrated circuits (PICs) represent a promising alternative for significantly reducing complexity and energy consumption.
The work is divided into two main applications: In the first part, a reservoir computing-based neural network for modulation format identification (MFI) is presented. In extensive experimental demonstrations, including live tests with commercial network equipment, the developed neuromorphic PIC achieved a recognition accuracy of up to 100% for various modulation formats such as OOK, PAM, BPSK, and QAM over transmission distances of up to 100 km. In the second part, a hybrid neuromorphic PIC for signal equalization is developed, which enables processing directly in the optical domain and thus leverages the inherent advantages of optical systems, such as low latency and high bandwidth. The results show an improvement in the Q² factor of up to 1.92 dB for 16-QAM signals. The dissertation concludes that photonic neuromorphic networks can make a significant contribution to increasing the efficiency and sustainability of future optical networks.
Guillermo von Hünefeld was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1987 and moved to Berlin in 2010, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering at the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin).
The examination committee was chaired by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Maurizio Burla (TU Berlin) and further consisted of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ronald Freund MBA (TU Berlin, Fraunhofer HHI), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stephan Pachnicke (CAU), and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Francesco Da Ros (DTU).
Fraunhofer HHI congratulates Guillermo von Hünefeld on successfully completing his doctorate and recognizes this outstanding achievement as a significant impetus for future-oriented optical communication systems.
