The experimental frequency comb chip multiplies the signal’s bandwidth by a single infrared laser to produce a “rainbow spectrum of numerous color.” Each split frequency may be used to send unique data along a 37-core optical fibre over 8 km (about five miles) in length, reaching 1.8 Pbit/s during testing and potentially scaling much higher. This is despite just having a single laser source. Chalmers University of Technology professor and co-author Victor Torres Company asserts that “What is special about this chip is that it produces a frequency comb with ideal characteristics for fiber-optical communications, It has high optical power and covers a broad bandwidth within the spectral region that is interesting for advanced optical communications. “In fact, some of the characteristic parameters were achieved by coincidence and not by design. However, with efforts in my team, we are now capable to reverse engineer the process and achieve with high reproducibility microcombs for target applications in telecommunications.” The team believes the energy-intensive requirements of the modern internet will be addressed by the record-breaking communication system, but acknowledges that there are still issues that need to be resolved before the technology can be used in a commercial setting. Oxenløwe further explains that “All over the world, work is being done to integrate the laser source in the optical chip, and we’re working on that as well, The more components we can integrate in the chip, the more efficient the whole transmitter will be — i.e. laser, comb-creating chip, data modulators, and any amplifier elements. It will be an extremely efficient optical transmitter of data signals.” Furthermore, the team’s findings were published in Nature Photonics under closed-access conditions. Read More: Best Internet Speed Test Sites of All Time
