Researchers have achieved a groundbreaking data speed record on optical fiber. This milestone comes with the development of a compact optical transmitter known as a coherent driver modulator (CDM), built using indium phosphide (InP) technology. This innovation has set a new standard for baud rate and transmission capacity per wavelength, surpassing previous achievements in optical communication.
CDMs play a vital role in optical communication systems by encoding information onto light before it travels through optical fibers. With the ever-growing demand for faster data transmission, the need for smaller and more efficient CDMs has become increasingly critical. These devices are essential for handling complex modulation formats and achieving higher transmission speeds, addressing the escalating volume of data traffic globally.
Josuke Ozaki, representing NTT Innovative Devices Corporation, emphasized the significance of enhancing data transmission capabilities to support various services like video distribution and web conferencing. As society becomes increasingly reliant on data, there is a pressing need to boost the total data rate of optical transmission systems to meet the demands of modern applications.
The newly developed CDM operates across a broad wavelength range, including the C+L band, thereby expanding the available bandwidth for data transmission. This accomplishment is made possible through the utilization of a novel modulator chip featuring optimized semiconductor layers and waveguide structures.
In experimental trials, the new CDM showcased remarkable performance metrics, including an electro-optic 3-dB bandwidth exceeding 90 GHz and an extinction ratio of 28 dB or more. Furthermore, it achieved a record-breaking net bit rate of 1.8 Tbps over an 80-km standard single-mode fiber in the C+L band using advanced modulation techniques.
This breakthrough heralds the potential for even faster data transmission speeds in the future. The next phase of research aims to further increase the baud rate while simultaneously reducing power consumption and device size. This will pave the way for more efficient and compact optical communication systems. The recent data transmission experiment demonstrated that information could travel at an astonishing speed of 22.9 trillion bits per second through just one fiber-optic cable.
