• Technical Conference:  30 March – 03 April 2025
  • Exhibition: 01 – 03 April 2025
  • Moscone Center, San Francisco, California, USA

Demo Zone

Committee: 

Dora Van Veen, Nokia Bell Labs, USA (Subcommittee Chair)
Achim Autenrieth, ADVA Optical Networking AG, Germany
Pedro Friere, Aston University, UK
David Millar, Infinera, USA
Paolo Monti, Chalmers Tekniska Högskola, Sweden
Hideyuki Nasu, Furukawa Electric, Japan
Luiz-Anet Neto, CNRS - FOTON, France
Chigo Okonkwo, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Netherlands
Paola Parolari, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Ben Puttnam, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Japan
Yikai Su, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
Michale Svaluto Moreolo, CTTC, Spain
Shuyi Yan, Cisco, USA
George Zervas, University College London, UK
Ligia Zorello, Meta, USA


The Demo Zone features live demonstrations of research projects and proof-of-concept implementations related to novel, non-commercial, optical communication devices, systems, and networks.

Demonstrations occur in a dedicated booth in the demo zone equipped with a table, a monitor, and a bulletin board. They are shown to small groups, favoring an interactive format with real-time exchanges between attendees and demo presenters. Demonstrations are typically executed on request and may incorporate a mix of on-site and remote equipment. These could additionally involve recorded videos or live connections to remote hardware or experiments.

As a guideline, the maturity of the demonstrated feature should be at a technology readiness level (TRL) of 6 or lower. Please refer to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_readiness_level for more information on TRL.

Topic Categories

The 2025 OFC Demo Zone showcases various aspects of optical physical layer transmission, hardware, and network orchestration/intelligence. These aspects include, but are not restricted to:

  • Automated device alignment or characterization setups
  • Automated measurement setups for high-capacity transmission experiments including the use of novel optical fibers;
  • Systems, sub-systems, and devices for free-space, microwave, or optical fiber transmission and switching;
  • Digital processing sub-systems and sensing;
  • Optical access networks including their convergence with metro transport, wireless access networks, mobile edge computing;
  • Novel networking elements and concepts, including those supporting time-deterministic and low-latency applications;
  • Network virtualization, slicing, software-defined control of networks;
  • Programmable networks, including softwarised network functions and programmable hardware;
  • Autonomous network management, control and orchestration;
  • Application of AI and ML to optical networks, systems, and systems;
  • Quantum networking, including demonstration of entanglement distribution, implementing advanced QKD applications and quantum protocols;

The chance to showcase technical accomplishments in depth through live demonstrations provides a great opportunity for engaging in discussions with participants.

Submission Deadline: 14 November 2024, 12:00 Noon Eastern Time (UTC-05:00)