Researchers upgrade fiber tech to transmit data at 255 Terabits/s

Researchers at the Eindhoven University of Technology and the University of Central Florida have successfully transmitted data over a new type of fiber at a blistering speed of 255 Terabits per second.

The new fiber consists of 7 cores as supposed to the 1 core that standard, state-of-the-art, fibers currently carry. Furthermore, the researchers also implemented two additional "orthogonal dimensions" for data transmission, which is purportedly similar to having 3 cars driving on top of each other. These two methods in turn help to deliver 21 times more bandwidth than the 4-8 Terabits per second of current fiber technology.

Single-mode fibres with low loss and a large transmission bandwidth are a key enabler for long-haul high-speed optical communication and form the backbone of our information-driven society. However, we are on the verge of reaching the fundamental limit of single-mode fibre transmission capacity. Therefore, a new means to increase the transmission capacity of optical fibre is essential to avoid a capacity crunch. Here, by employing few-mode multicore fibre, compact three-dimensional waveguide multiplexers and energy-efficient frequency-domain multiple-input multiple-output equalization, we demonstrate the viability of spatial multiplexing to reach a data rate of 5.1 Tbit s⁻¹ carrier⁻¹ (net 4 Tbit s⁻¹ carrier⁻¹) on a single wavelength over a single fibre. Furthermore, by combining this approach with wavelength division multiplexing with 50 wavelength carriers on a dense 50 GHz grid, a gross transmission throughput of 255 Tbit s⁻¹ (net 200 Tbit s⁻¹) over a 1 km fibre link is achieved.