APPLICATIONS & RESEARCH
UCL sets new record for fastest optical data transmission over fibre
A new record for the fastest ever data rate for digital information has been set by UCL (London) researchers in the Optical Networks Group. They achieved a rate of 1.125 Tb/s as part of research on the capacity limits of optical transmission systems, designed to address the growing demand for fast data rates. Lead researcher, Dr Robert Maher, UCL Electronic & Electrical Engineering, said: “While current state-of-the-art commercial optical transmission systems are capable of receiving single channel data
the ubiquitous connectivity of smart devices referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT). Professor Polina Bayvel, the principal investigator of the UNLOC programme at UCL, said: “This result is a milestone as it shows that terabit per second optical communications systems are possible in the quest to reach ever higher transmission capacities in optical fibres that carry the vast majority of all data generated or received. A high- capacity digital communications infrastructure underpins the internet and is essential to all aspects of the digital economy and everyday lives.”
Game of Thrones series to be downloaded within one second.” The study, published recently in Scientific Reports, used techniques from information theory and digital signal processing to custom build an optical communications system with multiple transmitting channels and a single receiver. As part of the EPSRC-funded UNLOC programme, the project set out to investigate ways to improve the optical network infrastructure to support the explosion of digital content, cloud and e-health services, as well as
rates of up to 100 gigabits per second (Gb/s), we are working with sophisticated equipment in our lab to design the next generation core networking and communications systems that can handle data signals at rates in excess of 1 terabit per second (Tb/s). “For comparison this is almost 50,000 greater than the average speed of a UK broadband connection of 24 megabits per second (Mb/s), which is the current speed defining “superfast” broadband. To give an example, the data rate we have achieved would allow the entire HD
All-new multi-purpose programmable optical chips for telecoms and more R esearchers at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain, say they are at Today, the team led by Prof. José Capmany at the UPV’s Institute of Telecommunications
and Multimedia Applications (iTEAM) are in the process of defining a starter chip that can be programmed to offer two functions: filter and instant frequency measurement. Manufactured from indium phosphide, the chips are expected to be incorporated in up to six functionalities by the end of 2016. Capmany commented, “This the first step towards a complete overhaul of the telecommunications sector. The programmable optical chip, once available on the market, will trigger an exponential drop in chip manufacturing costs. In the not-too-distant future, we will have generic optical processors with a standard configuration and universal core, which will be programmable on demand. Manufacturing processes will be unified -whatever they are used for, the chip will be manufactured in the same way- which will lead to massive savings across the board.”
“the forefront of a revolution in microwave photonics”, by successfully developing what they are calling the first all- purpose programmable optical chips – currently at laboratory scale only. Optical chips or processors are used in many application areas, ranging from telecommunications networks to biomedical devices. As it stands, each chip has to be custom designed and manufactured for each task, which keeps production costs high and the sector fragmented. What the UPV researchers have achieved is to design a generic optical chip that can be programmed on demand to carry out any number of functions. In fact, they first proposed the concept of an all-purpose optical processor in 2013, putting them at the forefront of the state-of-the-art in the field of microwave photonics.
José Capmany (right) said the research was “the first step towards a complete overhaul of the telecommunications sector”.
types of chips. Now we can use the same hardware platform for all three functions”. The group has recently published a paper describing this work in the journal Nature Photonics. Also collaborating in this line of research at iTEAM are Pascual Muñoz, Ivana Gasulla, Javier Sanchez- Fandiño and Daniel Pérez.
Besides the economic advantages, the programmable chip will also usher in efficiency gains and all- important versatility: “Let’s imagine, for instance, that I want to manufacture three types of circuits: one that takes a delay line, another to generate signals and a third to filter. Until now we needed to manufacture three different
ISSUE 6 | Q1 2016 4
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