- Aston Institute of Photonic Research academics are part of a team that sent data at a rate of 402 terabits per second
- This beats their previous record of 301 terabits per second
- They constructed the first optical transmission system covering six wavelength bands.
Aston University researchers are part of a team that has sent data at a record rate of 402 terabits per second using commercially available optical fibre.
This beats their previous record, announced in March 2024, of 301 terabits or 301,000,000 megabits per second using a single, standard optical fibre.
If compared to the internet connection speed recommendations of Netflix, of 3 Mbit/s or higher, for watching a HD movie, this speed is over 100 million times faster.
The speed was achieved by using a wider spectrum, using six bands rather than the previous four, which increased capacity for data sharing. Normally just one or two bands are used.
The international research team included Professor Wladek Forysiak, Dr Ian Philips Dr Mingming Tan, Dr Aleksandr Donodin and Ms Dini Pratiwi who are all members of the University’s Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies (AIPT).
The research was led by Dr Ben Puttnam and Dr Ruben Luis of the Photonic of the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) which is based in Tokyo, Japan, with Nokia Bell Labs, USA, Amonics, Hong Kong, University of Padova, Italy and University of Stuttgart, Germany.
Together they achieved the feat by constructing the first optical transmission system covering six wavelength bands (O,E,S,C,L and U) used in fibre optical communication. Aston University contributed specifically by building a set of U-band Raman amplifiers, the longest part of the combined wavelength spectrum, where conventional doped fibre amplifiers are not presently available from commercial sources.
Optical fibres are small tubular strands of glass that pass information using light unlike regular copper cables that can’t carry data at such speeds.
As well as increasing capacity by approximately a third, the technique uses so-called “standard fibre” that is already deployed in huge quantities worldwide, so there would be no need to install new specialist cables.
As demand for data from business and individuals increases this new discovery could help keep broadband prices stable despite an improvement in capacity and speed.
Aston University’s Dr Philips said: “This finding could help increase capacity on a single fibre so the world would have a higher performing system.
“The newly developed technology is expected to make a significant contribution to expand the communication capacity of the optical communication infrastructure as future data services rapidly increase demand.”
His colleague Professor Wladek Forysiak added: "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."
The results of the experiment were accepted as a post-deadline paper at the 47th International Conference on Optical Fiber Communications (OFC 2024) in the USA on 28 March.
To help support some of its work in this area Aston University has received funding from EPSRC (UKRI), the Royal Society (RS Exchange grant with NICT) and the EU (European Training Network).
- Notes to editors
For detailed technical information on the experimental details and team contributions https://www.nict.go.jp/en/press/2024/06/26-1.html
The research team participating in this study are as follows.
・NICT Photonic Network Laboratory: design and development of transmission system
・Aston University (UK): development of Raman amplifiers
・Nokia Bell Labs (USA): development of optical gain equalizers
・Amonics (Hong Kong): development of optical fiber amplifiers and Raman amplifiers
・University of Padova (Italy): participated in transmission experiments
・University of Stuttgart (Germany): participated in transmission experimentsNetflix source https://help.netflix.com/en/node/306
About Aston University
For over a century, Aston University’s enduring purpose has been to make our world a better place through education, research and innovation, by enabling our students to succeed in work and life, and by supporting our communities to thrive economically, socially and culturally.
Aston University’s history has been intertwined with the history of Birmingham, a remarkable city that once was the heartland of the Industrial Revolution and the manufacturing powerhouse of the world.
Born out of the First Industrial Revolution, Aston University has a proud and distinct heritage dating back to our formation as the School of Metallurgy in 1875, the first UK College of Technology in 1951, gaining university status by Royal Charter in 1966, and becoming The Guardian University of the Year in 2020.
Building on our outstanding past, we are now defining our place and role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (and beyond) within a rapidly changing world.
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