Eindhoven University of Technology achieves throughput of 200 Tbit/s via fiber – update

Researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology have measured a net throughput rate of 200Tbit/s over a distance of 1 kilometer on fiber optic cables, using seven-core cables, 3D waveguides and mimo technology. Gross 255Tbit/s is possible.

The researchers were able to demonstrate that it is possible to get a 5.1Tbit/s signal on a single wavelength over a single fiber via multiplexing. Net they managed to achieve a throughput of 4Tbit/s. By applying this to 50 wavelengths on a 50GHz grid, they were able to achieve the net throughput rate of 200Tbit/s over a fiber optic cable with a length of 1 kilometer. The gross speed, including overhead, was 255Tbit/s.

The fiber optic cables consisted of seven cores, where current commercial cables have one. “In addition, the team is introducing two additional so-called optical vibration modes perpendicular to this,” according to the TUe. The researchers also used a 3D waveguide, in which sets of three transparent waveguides, or lightpaths, were arranged in triangles for the cores. Furthermore, energy-efficient multiple-input multiple-output equalization was used.

According to the researchers, we are about to reach a fundamental limit in the capacity of current single-mode fiber throughputs, which are up to 8Tbit/s. The science team’s cables could be used in practice in about five years’ time. One of the obstacles would be increasing the length of the cables while maintaining the speed. The cables are not much thicker: they would have a diameter of 200 µm.

The research was published Sunday in the scientific journal Nature Photonics. It is based on the dissertation MIMO Digital Signal Processing for Optical Spatial Division Multiplexed Transmission Systems by Roy van Uden of the Electrical Engineering department of Eindhoven University of Technology, who obtained his doctorate cum laude with it.

Update, 13.45: Article has been supplemented based on the press release of Eindhoven University of Technology itself.