Record : 57Gbps data transfer rate achieved on fiber-optic cables
Scientists send data at a record 57Gbps through fiber optic lines
Engineers at the University of Illinois have created record-breaking speeds for fiber-optic data transmission, breaking previous theories that fiber optics have a limit in how much data they can carry. The engineers transmitted 57 gigabits-per-second (Gbps) of error-free data at room temperature.
Engineers at the University of Illinois have created record-breaking speeds for fiber-optic data transmission, breaking previous theories that fiber optics have a limit in how much data they can carry. The engineers transmitted 57 gigabits-per-second (Gbps) of error-free data at room temperature.
Graduate researcher Michael Liu presented the research team’s developments in oxide-VCSEL technology, which underpins fiber-optic communications systems, at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition in Anaheim, CA. The research team was led by electrical and computer engineering professor Milton Feng — who is in attendance at the conference — and also included professor emeritus Nick Holonyak Jr. and graduate researcher Curtis Wang.
The need for a high-speed data transmission infrastructure has increased as big data has gotten bigger with the need for accommodating the ever-growing volume of bits transferred from one place to another.
“Our big question has always been, how do you make information transmit faster?” Feng said. “There is a lot of data out there, but if your data transmission is not fast enough, you cannot use data that’s been collected; you cannot use upcoming technologies that use large data streams, like virtual reality. The direction toward fiber-optic communication is going to increase, because there’s a higher speed data rate, especially over distance.”
Feng’s group has been pushing VCSEL technology to higher speeds in recent years. In 2014, it was the first group in the U.S. to achieve error-free data transmission at 40 Gbps.
What’s more interesting is that the engineers were still able to transmit 50 Gbps speeds at higher temperatures up to 85 degrees Celsius (185 degrees Fahrenheit). This is significant because for data center builders “achieving high speeds at high temperatures is very difficult,” Feng said. However, computing components grow warm over extended operation, as anyone who has worked on an increasingly heated laptop can attest. “That’s why data centers are refrigerated and have cooling systems.”
He added, “For data centers and for commercial use, you’d like a device not to carry a refrigerator. The device needs to be operational from room temperature all the way up to 85 degrees without spending energy and resources on cooling.”
Feng hopes that the conference presentations and papers will prove that high-speed operation at high temperatures is scientifically possible and useful for commercial applications.
“This type of technology is going to be used not only for data centers, but also for airborne, lightweight communications, like in airplanes, because the fiber-optic wires are much lighter than copper wire,” Feng said. Shedding any weight off a plane where possible can help conserve fuel. “We believe this could be very useful for industry. That’s what makes the work so important to us,” he added.
The need for a high-speed data transmission infrastructure has increased as big data has gotten bigger with the need for accommodating the ever-growing volume of bits transferred from one place to another.
“Our big question has always been, how do you make information transmit faster?” Feng said. “There is a lot of data out there, but if your data transmission is not fast enough, you cannot use data that’s been collected; you cannot use upcoming technologies that use large data streams, like virtual reality. The direction toward fiber-optic communication is going to increase, because there’s a higher speed data rate, especially over distance.”
Feng’s group has been pushing VCSEL technology to higher speeds in recent years. In 2014, it was the first group in the U.S. to achieve error-free data transmission at 40 Gbps.
What’s more interesting is that the engineers were still able to transmit 50 Gbps speeds at higher temperatures up to 85 degrees Celsius (185 degrees Fahrenheit). This is significant because for data center builders “achieving high speeds at high temperatures is very difficult,” Feng said. However, computing components grow warm over extended operation, as anyone who has worked on an increasingly heated laptop can attest. “That’s why data centers are refrigerated and have cooling systems.”
He added, “For data centers and for commercial use, you’d like a device not to carry a refrigerator. The device needs to be operational from room temperature all the way up to 85 degrees without spending energy and resources on cooling.”
Feng hopes that the conference presentations and papers will prove that high-speed operation at high temperatures is scientifically possible and useful for commercial applications.
“This type of technology is going to be used not only for data centers, but also for airborne, lightweight communications, like in airplanes, because the fiber-optic wires are much lighter than copper wire,” Feng said. Shedding any weight off a plane where possible can help conserve fuel. “We believe this could be very useful for industry. That’s what makes the work so important to us,” he added.
