Laser breakthrough: Internet transmission speed of 1 terabit per second

Scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) used lasers to transmit data through the air at a rate of 1 terabit per second. This could revolutionize the backbone of the Internet as we know it.

The authors of the study, published in the journal Nature, stress that there is "no question" that higher transmission rates will be possible after this breakthrough. In addition, it can also increase the bandwidth of many other types of optical data transmission.

Fast lasers instead of expensive cables

The backbone of the Internet, known as the backbone, carries hundreds of terabytes of data per second over fiber-optic cables. Many of them stretch along the ocean floor. That's very expensive. A cable across the Atlantic cost hundreds of millions of dollars. One solution is to transmit data via satellite.

Reduce errors with 1,500 corrections per second

In order for a strong signal to reach the receiver, a wide beam of light must be sent. The ETH team used the telescope to send the beam to a mountain station 54 kilometers away. The laser is modulated to achieve a high transmission rate. However, the turbulence of the air particles can alter the oscillations and lead to false results.

The solution: A MEMS chip (micro-electro-mechanical System) consisting of 97 movable micromirrors that can correct phase shifts up to 1,500 times per second. "The most important thing is that the signal improved by about 500 times," ETH concluded.

40 channels = 40 terabits per second

The project, which is part of the EU's Horizon 2020 project, initially tested the new process using only one wavelength. In the future and in practice, the system could be "easily scaled up to 40 channels and thus 40 terabits per second" with standard technology, the authors write.

Source: Laser Network