Sam Shead

Team looks for fibre-optic cables to transmit more info

News

Scientists in London are attempting to increase the amount of information that can be transmitted in fibre-optic cables to meet increasing demand.

A team of researchers at University College London (UCL) is using novel techniques to increase the amount of data that can be sent via fibre-optic cables as part of a five-year EPSRC project worth £4.75m.

Prof Polina Bayvel, project leader from UCL’s Optical Networks Group, told The Engineer: ‘There’s currently billions of kilometres of fibres that have been installed around the world and if one could get additional capacity out of that infrastructure it would be extremely valuable.’

Bayvel explained that the UCL team is aiming to achieve the highest data-transmission capacities ever recorded, which exceed 100 petabytes per kilometre. More specifically, the team is aiming to achieve the highest data-transmission rate that is theoretically possible, known as the ‘Shannon limit’.

Bayvel believes it is possible to send more data through optical fibres by exploiting the various properties of the light pulses that carry the information. She hopes that by using advanced modulation techniques, coding techniques and digital signal-processing techniques, they will be able to attain the Shannon limit.

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