In a potentially promising breakthrough, researchers from Osaka University and IMRA America have unveiled a single channel optical wireless link that can achieve speeds of up to 240GB/s, a new world record. The team is now setting its sights on quadrupling this performance to reach an unprecedented 1TB/s.
eeNews Europe reports that the researchers used a stimulated Brillouin scattering laser to generate signals at 300GHz for 6G networks. This laser employs interactions between sound and light waves to produce a precise signal.
The team then established a 300GHz-band wireless communication system that utilizes this laser-based signal generator in both the transmitter and receiver.
Highest transmission rate in the world
The sub-terahertz band, ranging from 100 GHz to 300 GHz, is the playground for these 6G transmitters and receivers. To further boost the data transmission rate of these wireless links, the researchers used a sophisticated approach called “multi-level signal modulation”. However, this method becomes highly sensitive to noise when operating at the top end of these frequencies.
For efficient functioning, multi-level signal modulation relies on precise reference signals. When these signals start to shift, phase noise negatively impacts the performance of the multi-level signal modulation. To counter this, the system uses online digital signal processing (DSP) to demodulate the signals in the receiver and increase the data rate.
Tadao Nagatsuma, the project leader, proudly announced, “Our team achieved a single-channel transmission rate of 240GB/s. This is the highest transmission rate obtained so far in the world using online DSP.”
The researchers are optimistic that with the use of multiplexing techniques, which allow for more than one channel to be used, and more sensitive receivers, they can push the data rate to 1TB/s, setting the stage for the next generation of 6G mobile networks.
