Recently, there have been several important news regarding fiber optic network communications.
Researchers have achieved a major breakthrough in fiber optic data transmission speeds, reaching 301 terabits per second (Tbps). This speed is equivalent to streaming 1,800 4K movies in one second and far exceeds the speed of most current home broadbands. To achieve this astonishing speed, the scientists used an "E-band" spectrum that had never been used in a commercial system before and developed new optical amplifier and optical gain equalizer devices. These devices are capable of reliably transmitting data in the E-band, although this band is often considered unsuitable for data transmission due to high transmission losses (livescience.com).
A research team from the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) set a new world record for optical fiber transmission speed in November 2023, reaching 22.9 petabits per second (Pbps). This achievement was achieved by combining multi-band wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) and spatial division multiplexing (SDM) technologies. Specifically, they used multi-core, multi-mode fiber and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) receivers, resulting in a transmission capacity of 0.3 to 0.7 Pbps per fiber core and a total transmission capacity of 22.9 Pbps. This technological breakthrough lays the foundation for the realization of future ultra-large-capacity optical fiber communication networks (TechXlore).
At the 2024 Optical Fiber Communications Conference (OFC 2024), experts discussed the latest optical fiber transmission technology and the development trends of future optical fiber networks. Among them, multi-core optical fiber technology and new optical amplifiers are considered key technologies to improve the capacity and performance of optical fiber networks. Multi-core optical fiber can contain multiple independent optical transmission channels in one optical fiber, greatly increasing the amount of data transmission. In addition, new optical amplifier technology can effectively enhance optical signals, reduce losses in data transmission, and improve transmission efficiency and reliability (Fibre Systems).
These news show the huge potential of fiber optic technology to increase the speed and capacity of data transmission, indicating that future network communications will be faster and more efficient. These technological breakthroughs not only improve the performance of existing fiber optic networks but also prepare for future growth in demand for large-capacity data transmission.