Scientists continue to blow through Data transmission recordsThe fastest information transmission between a laser system and an optical chip system is now at 1.8 petabits per sec. That’s It is a good idea to have moreYou can see how much traffic is being sent across the internet each second.
Another comparison is the average Download speed for broadbandThe US averages 167 megabits per Second. To reach a gigabit you need 1,000 megabits, then you will need 1,000,000 gigabits in order to reach a petabit.
No matter how you present the number, 1.8 petabits can be a significant amount of data to transmit per second.
Supercharged data transfer systems are built around an optical chip that uses light from one infrared laser to split it into hundreds. The frequencies are isolated at fixed distances from each other, like teeth in a comb – hence the name for this setup, which is a frequency comb.
The huge transmission rates can be achieved by each ‘tooth’ of a frequency-comb sending its own data burst. To carry the same number 1s and 0, it would take around 1000 lasers to use more conventional methods.
“This chip produces a frequency-comb with the ideal characteristics for fiber optic communications. That is what makes it unique.” Victor Torres Company, nanoscientistChalmers University of Technology, Sweden
“It is high in optical power and covers a broad spectrum within the spectral range that is important for advanced optical communication.”
To achieve the feat, the researchers split the fiber-optic cable into 37 distinct core sections, and then each section was split into 223 different frequency slices – the teeth on the comb. It was vital to achieve the record-breaking rate by having so many data transmitted simultaneously.
The actual data was encoded into light signals using a process called ModulationThis adjusts the strength, rhythm, direction, and height of light waves in order to store digital data.
This is a proof-of-concept, as computers can’t generate or receive so many data simultaneously. Artificial ‘dummy data was used in this case to verify that the system works as it should.
What’s more, extra components – including data encoding devices – need to be incorporated into the chip. The researchers claim that once this is done, the system will be significantly faster and draw less power than what we currently have.
“Our solution has the potential to replace hundreds of thousands lasers at Internet hubs or data centers that consume power and produce heat. says electrical engineer Leif Katsuo OxenløweThe Technical University of Denmark.
“We have the opportunity to help create an Internet that has a smaller carbon footprint.”
Through the use of a computational model, the researchers were also able to determine that there’s substantial potential when it comes to scaling up the system – even higher data transmission rates should be possible in the future.
The models demonstrate that it is possible to achieve rates up to 100 petabits/second by further splitting the light frequencies, and further amplifying their signals. All of this is possible without compromising data reliability.
Getting up to that stage is going to depend on improvements in other areas of computing, and in internet infrastructure, but the underlying technologies – lasers, optical fiber – aren’t too far away from what we’re already using.
“The more parts we can incorporate in the chip the more efficient the entire transmitter will be.” says Katsuo Oxenløwe. It will be a highly efficient optical transmitter for data signals.
The research has been published in Nature Photonics.
