(ORDO NEWS) — The researchers were able to transfer data at a rate of 1.84 petabytes per second. That’s almost double the amount of global internet traffic in the same amount of time.
Fantastic speed
Thus, it was possible to break the previous record for data transmission using a single light source and an optical chip at one petabit per second.
And to put that number into perspective, a petabit is equal to one million gigabits. One gigabit, or 1,000 megabits, is about the fastest download speed money can buy for most households.
For this amazing achievement, researchers at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Chalmers University of Technology used a special optical chip that can use a single infrared light, splitting it into hundreds of different frequencies evenly spaced apart.
Together they are known as the frequency comb. Each frequency on the comb can discretely store data, modulating the wave properties of light, allowing scientists to transmit many more bits than conventional methods.
How scientists managed to do it
In a study of the work, published in the journal Nature Photonics, the scientists describe how they transmitted “dummy” data at 1.84 petabits per second over 8 kilometers of optical fiber using 223 wave channels in a frequency comb.
More than a thousand lasers would be required to transmit data at such speeds using commercial equipment, scientists say. For this experiment, using a state-of-the-art chip, only one was needed.
The feature of this chip is that it produces a frequency comb with ideal characteristics for fiber optic communication.
It has high optical power and covers a wide bandwidth in the spectral region, which is of interest to advanced optical communications. Victor Torres, head of the research team and Professor Chalmers, said in a company press release.
Can this be applied in real life?
Despite the amazing speed, the researchers say they are just getting started and believe speeds of up to 100 petabits per second are possible.
Although research efforts have shown that this is possible, the technology has yet to be put into practice.
But scientists believe their solution could make data transmission much more efficient, thus leaving a “smaller climate footprint.”
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