The absolute record of data transfer rate is set: 1.125 Tbit / s

Engineers from University College London (UCL) have updated the world record for data transfer speed in a single-receiver optical system. Now the record is 1,125 terabits / s.

Scientific work published in the journal Scientific Reports ( pdf ). In the preface to the work, the authors note the rapid progress of communication systems on fiber over the past 40 years. But further growth is hampered by the fact that nonlinear distortions due to the electro-optical Kerr effect begin to appear.
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Mitigating these non-linear distortions is an area of ​​intense research.

Robert Maher (Robert Maher) with colleagues from UCL used a scheme with 15 data channels at different wavelengths. Information from all channels is processed by a single receiver. Robert Mayher calls it a “super receiver” and suggests using such “super channels” in the cores of fiber optic cables that connect cities, countries and continents.

To compress the information flow and eliminate distortions, engineers applied the 256QAM quadrature modulation method, which was never used in optical systems before.

In order to achieve reception of all channels on a single device at approximately the same speed, the researchers needed to make a thorough optimization at the level of the signal modulation format and the code rate of each optical channel.



As a result, in the laboratory, they recorded data transmission at a speed of 1.125 Tbit / s, connecting the transmitter and receiver directly. Now it is necessary to check how the “super channel” will manifest itself when transmitting information for many kilometers over fiber.