An international research team has set a new world record for data transmission speed, achieving 402 terabits per second using commercially available optical fibre. This milestone, led by Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), surpasses their previous record of 301 terabits per second.
To provide context, with a data rate of 402 terabits per second, a Netflix user could download the entire library of films in less than a second. This speed is over 100 million times faster than the 3 Mbit/s speed recommended by Netflix for HD streaming.
The research team attributes this achievement to constructing an advanced optical transmission system. This system can utilize all six wavelength bands (O, E, S, C, L, and U) employed in standard optical communication. Previously, only four bands were used, thus significantly expanding the data transmission capacity.
Dr. Ian Philips of Aston University’s Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies (AIPT) emphasized the potential impact of this technology. “The newly-developed technology is expected to make a significant contribution to expanding the communication capacity of the optical communication infrastructure as future data services rapidly increase demand,” he says.
Optical fibres, unlike traditional copper cables, use light to transmit information through small glass strands. The fibres used in this experiment are not specialized but are standard fibres widely deployed globally. This could lead to stabilized broadband prices despite increased speed and capacity.
The research team’s efforts included contributions from various international partners. AIPT, for example, developed U-band Raman amplifiers, while Nokia Bell Labs in the US provided novel optical gain equalizers that enabled access to previously unused wavelength bands. The team also included researchers from the University of Padova in Italy and the University of Stuttgart in Germany.
“This is a ‘hero experiment’ made possible by a multi-national team effort and very recent technical advances in telecommunications research laboratories from across the world,” remarks Professor Wladek Forysiak of AIPT.
However, it’s important to note that this record was set under optimal laboratory conditions. Further research is necessary to translate these capabilities into practical, real-world applications.
Ben Puttnam presented the findings at the 47th International Conference on Optical Fiber Communications (OFC 2024), highlighting the system’s capacity to transmit data at an aggregate optical bandwidth of 37.6 THz over 50 km of optical fibre.
This advancement was achieved by expanding dense wavelength division multiplexed (DWDM) transmission to cover all major transmission bands within the low-loss window of standard optical fibres. The transmission demonstration utilized six variants of doped fibre optical amplifiers along with discrete and distributed Raman amplification and novel optical gain equalizers.
Given the growing demand for higher data rates, especially with the anticipated advent of “beyond 5G” information services, this breakthrough offers a promising solution. It enables higher data-rate transmissions in existing fibre networks, thereby extending their useful life and potentially reducing the need for new fibre deployments.
Glossary
- Optical Fibre: Thin strands of glass used to transmit information as light pulses.
- Wavelength Bands (O, E, S, C, L, U): Different regions within the optical spectrum used for data transmission.
- Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM): A technology that increases the bandwidth of optical fibres by transmitting multiple signals simultaneously on different wavelengths.
- Raman Amplification: A technique to amplify optical signals by using the Raman scattering effect.
NICT and its partners will continue developing new amplifier technologies and extending the range of these ultra-high-capacity systems. Their goal is to support future communication services’ growing data transmission demands and ensure that the infrastructure can keep pace with technological advancements.
