How to Reduce Optical Communication Latency in Distributed Ledger Systems

Overview of Technical Issues:

In distributed ledger systems, the optical signal transmitting and receiving structures combined with encoding/decoding structures exhibit insufficient transmission speed, causing elevated end-to-end communication latency that delays consensus protocol execution across distributed nodes, resulting in slow transaction confirmation times and reduced system throughput; the goal is to minimize optical communication latency to enable faster consensus and improve overall ledger performance.

Solution directions generated for this problem

Problem Direction 1 :

ImproveOptical signal transmission speed
VS
ConstraintEnergy consumption of transceivers

Inspiration 1 : Cross-domain reference

Application Principle: #19 Periodic action
Cross-domain applicability Assess applicability
Method and device for transmitting and receiving small data in mobile communication system
Innovative Solution Refine solution

Burst-mode optical transceiver with adaptive duty-cycle control for distributed ledger consensus

Implement burst-mode transmission synchronized with consensus protocol phases
How to solve :
  • Deploy burst-mode laser drivers that activate only during consensus message exchange windows (2-8ms bursts), achieving 25Gbps peak rate while maintaining 5.5W average power through 70% idle time
  • Integrate fast-recovery APD receivers with <10ns wake-up latency and clock-data recovery circuits featuring phase-locked loops that lock within 50ns to handle intermittent bursts without preamble overhead
  • Synchronize burst timing via distributed time protocol (IEEE 1588 PTP, ±100ns accuracy) across nodes, triggering transmission 200μs before consensus round-trip requirement to ensure <10ms total latency including 6ms propagation and 3ms processing
Expected Effect : Latency <10ms; power 5.5W avg (vs 15W continuous); throughput 2000 tx/s
Risk Control :
  • burst synchronization drift across nodes
  • laser thermal stability during rapid on-off cycles
  • receiver sensitivity degradation at burst edges

Problem Direction 2 :

ImproveEncoding-decoding processing duration
VS
ConstraintEnergy consumption of transceivers

Inspiration 1 : Cross-domain reference

Application Principle: #10 Preliminary action
Cross-domain applicability Assess applicability
Systems and methods for managing data in an intelligent television
Innovative Solution Refine solution

Pre-computed lookup table codec for low-latency distributed ledger consensus

Pre-compute FEC syndrome tables at node initialization and store in low-power SRAM
How to solve :
  • Generate complete Reed-Solomon (255,239) syndrome lookup tables during node boot phase and store in on-chip SRAM (512KB capacity, <0.5W idle power)
  • during consensus message processing, replace real-time Galois field arithmetic with direct table indexing, reducing codec latency from 20-40ms to <4ms
  • Implement dual-port SRAM architecture clocked at 200MHz (vs 800MHz+ for real-time computation), cutting dynamic power from 12-15W to 6-8W per codec while maintaining <5ms throughput via parallel read operations
  • Deploy hash-based table addressing where incoming message blocks directly map to pre-calculated parity vectors, eliminating multiplier circuits (major power consumers) and achieving deterministic 3.8ms worst-case latency with ±0.2ms tolerance
Expected Effect : Latency reduced to <4ms; power 6-8W vs 12-15W baseline; throughput maintained at target
Risk Control :
  • SRAM size constraint for extended codes
  • table initialization time at cold start
  • memory bit-error rate under radiation

Problem Direction 3 :

ImproveOptical signal transmission speed
VS
ConstraintSystem implementation complexity

Inspiration 1 : Cross-domain reference

Application Principle: #1 Segmentation
Cross-domain applicability Assess applicability
Dynamic buffer management in data-driven intelligent network
Innovative Solution Refine solution

Modular pluggable coherent optics with pre-validated interface standardization

Modular coherent optics isolate complexity within pre-validated units
How to solve :
  • Deploy CFP2-DCO pluggable coherent modules at each node—100G transmission capability with internal DSP, modulation, and equalization pre-integrated and factory-validated, eliminating custom optical design
  • Interface nodes via standardized 4×25G electrical lanes (IEEE 802.3) operating at 1.2V CMOS levels, tolerance ±50mV, BER <10⁻¹²—node firmware only manages lane mapping, hiding all coherent complexity
  • Use hot-swappable QSFP-DD form factor with I²C management bus for plug-and-play deployment—modules from multiple vendors (Acacia, NeoPhotonics, Inphi) interoperate via common MSA specification, avoiding proprietary integration
Expected Effect : Latency <8ms end-to-end; complexity reduction 70% vs custom coherent design; interoperability across 5+ vendors
Risk Control :
  • electrical lane signal integrity at high speed
  • thermal management in compact module
  • vendor module firmware compatibility

Problem Direction 4 :

ImproveEncoding-decoding processing duration
VS
ConstraintSystem implementation complexity

Inspiration 1 : Cross-domain reference

Application Principle: #35 Parameter changes
Cross-domain applicability Assess applicability
Relay backhaul uplink HARQ protocol
Innovative Solution Refine solution

Adaptive codec mode switching for distributed ledger consensus

Switch codec complexity based on link quality
How to solve :
  • Implement dual-mode FEC codec that dynamically selects between simple RS(255,239) for high-SNR links (processing <3ms, minimal logic) and complex LDPC only for degraded channels (processing <8ms)
  • Real-time SNR monitoring at 100Hz sampling rate triggers mode switch within 10ms when BER crosses 10⁻⁹ threshold, using lookup table stored in 2KB SRAM to avoid runtime computation
  • Standardized mode signaling via 2-bit header field ensures receiver synchronization without additional handshake overhead, maintaining aggregate latency <5ms for 85% of consensus traffic
Expected Effect : Processing time reduced to 3ms (normal), complexity -60%, throughput +40%
Risk Control :
  • SNR measurement accuracy drift
  • mode switch transient packet loss
  • threshold calibration per deployment

Problem Direction 5 :

ImproveSignal propagation delay
VS
ConstraintSystem implementation complexity

Inspiration 1 : Cross-domain reference

Application Principle: #10 Preliminary action
Cross-domain applicability Assess applicability
Improved separators, batteries, systems, and methods for vehicles with idle start-stop function.
Innovative Solution Refine solution

Pre-configured wavelength-routed optical mesh for consensus networks

Pre-assign wavelength channels to consensus paths during network initialization
How to solve :
  • Assign each consensus node pair a dedicated DWDM wavelength channel (ITU-T grid, 50GHz spacing) at deployment
  • use passive arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) multiplexers (insertion loss <3dB) to route by wavelength without active switching
  • deploy pre-spliced single-mode fiber (G.652D, attenuation ≤0.25dB/km) in star topology from central AWG hub to all nodes, eliminating reconfiguration logic
Expected Effect : Propagation delay <8ms; zero switching overhead; plug-and-play node addition
Risk Control :
  • wavelength drift beyond ±10GHz ITU tolerance
  • AWG channel crosstalk >-25dB
  • fiber splice loss exceeding 0.1dB budget
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