German researchers have achieved a new world record for wireless data transmission at a speed of 100 Gbit per second, over a distance of more than 20 meters in their laboratory and at a frequency of 237.5 GHz. Although still in the experimental stage, this is another step in the effort to further improve wireless broadband communications, which are an alternative and cheaper solution compared to fixed fiber optic networks, especially for remote rural areas, where laying cables requires large investments.
Scientists from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the University of Stuttgart and the Fraunhofer Institute, led by Professor Ingmar Kalfas, who published the relevant paper in the photonics journal “Nature Photonics”, reported that “with a transmission speed of 100 Gbit/s, it will be possible to wirelessly transmit the contents of a blue-ray disc or five DVDs between two devices in just two seconds.”
The German researchers' achievement combined electronics and photonics technology, as high-frequency radio signals are generated by fiber optic systems via an optical (photonic) method, which allows for the simultaneous transmission of much more data (bits), which are then received by active integrated electronic circuits. These "chips" (broadband receivers), manufactured by the famous German Fraunhofer Institute, operate in a frequency range of 200 to 280 GHz, are only a few square millimeters in size and can be integrated without problem into an existing fiber optic network.
In previous experiments, purely with electronic technology (without the help of photonics), in May this year, researchers had achieved a transmission speed of 40 Gbit/s over a distance of more than one kilometer.
Researchers are now optimistic that they can increase wireless transmission speeds beyond 100 Gbit/s, thanks to a combination of optical and electronic methods. As researcher Sven König of the Institute of Photonics and Quantum Electronics at KIT said, “radio systems with data transmission speeds of the order of 1 Terabit per second now seem feasible.”.
Source: tanea.gr
