Scientists transmitted data via fiber optic cable at a speed of 301 million megabits per second

Specialists from the British University Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies set a record in data transmission, transmitting information through a fiber-optic line at a speed of 301 million megabits per second. The breakthrough was made possible by the use of new wavelengths.

Fiber optic technology relies on transmitting light signals through ultra-thin fibers made of plastic or glass, also known as a core. Standard light waves of 850, 1300 and 1550 nanometers are used for data transmission. Professor Vladek Forysiak and Dr Ian Phillips from the Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies used wavelength ranges that had not previously been used in modern fiber optic systems.

In fiber optic communications, the two most commonly used wavelength ranges are conventional (C-band) and long-wavelength (L-band), which is used when C-band cannot provide the required bandwidth. Forysiak and Phillips successfully used two new spectral bands, the extended wavelength band (E-band) and the short wavelength band (S-band), to increase capacity at the expense of the more common C and L bands. To effectively use these additional wavelength bands waves, researchers had to develop new optical amplifiers and optical gain equalizers.

While the speed achieved is impressive, it is not the highest ever recorded. Earlier, researchers from NICT in Japan set a world record, reaching a speed of 1.02 petabits per second. They used a special cable with four cores, as opposed to the standard single-core line used in the Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies study.