Mitsubishi Electric Succeeds in Transmitting a 1.3 Terabit/Second Optical Signal over 8,400km
Announcement posted by Mitsubishi Electric Australia 07 Feb 2002
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has succeeded in developing a long-distance, high-capacity WDM optical transmission system. In tests, the new system transmitted, by means of a single fiber, 65 signals of 20 gigabits/second each, over a distance of 8,400 km. Total transmission speed was 1.3 terabits/second. Development costs relating to next-generation submarine and overland networks can expect to see drastic reductions as a result of this exciting new success.
"1.3 Terabit / Second long distance transmission had been thought to be impossible until this point," said Takashi Mizuochi, head researcher at Mitsubishi Electrics Information Technology R&D Center.
The outstanding experimental results obtained were a direct result of the following technological attributes:
- A fiber effective area management methodology that ties into greatly improved signal-to-noise ratios
- A new symmetrically collided transmission protocol that suppresses the waveform distortion induced by fiber nonlinear effects
- A commercial optical transceiver capable of transmitting 20 gigabits per second and suitable for transoceanic applications
- A wide-band, low-noise hybrid optical repeater that features a Raman/EDF (Erbium Doped Fiber) amplifier
With the transmission speed of each signal rising to 20 gigabits/second, previous data volumes can now be obtained with half the number of waves. Equipment can therefore be more compact, and maintenance and communications costs reduced. Further details of the new technology are due to be announced at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference to be held on March 20, 2002 in Anaheim, California.
Demand for trunk networks is increasing in line with the more general increase in the popularity of Internet services. High-capacity optical cables cater to the majority of international demand for data transmission, resulting in calls from industry players for the technology to send many signals via a small number of cables.
WDM technologies, which combine a number of different wavelengths to considerably boost data transmission capacities, are the developers' response to this need. However, this technology requires more extensive setups and commensurately higher costs. Doubling the transmission speed of each wave to 20 gigabits/second will allow companies to reduce the amount of equipment involved in setup and thereby cut costs. Accomplishing this, however, requires improvements in signal-to-noise ratios and compensation for signal distortion induced by the non-linear properties of fibers. These issues have presented considerable difficulties in the past.
Bidding to overcome these technical challenges, Mitsubishi Electric devised an optical fiber design scheme that maximizes signal-to-noise ratios and an optical transmission protocol to minimize distortion. These advances enabled the company to realize its outstanding experimental results, in which a signal was sent over a distance of 8,400km. Engineers had previously considered a feat of this nature impossible.
In the future, Mitsubishi Electric plans to use inverse multiplexing techniques to pair wavelengths, and thereby double transmission speeds to 40 gigabits/second. With existing technologies, it is extremely difficult to directly send signals of this speed over transoceanic distances. However, the company plans to make such technical options a reality.
"1.3 Terabit / Second long distance transmission had been thought to be impossible until this point," said Takashi Mizuochi, head researcher at Mitsubishi Electrics Information Technology R&D Center.
The outstanding experimental results obtained were a direct result of the following technological attributes:
- A fiber effective area management methodology that ties into greatly improved signal-to-noise ratios
- A new symmetrically collided transmission protocol that suppresses the waveform distortion induced by fiber nonlinear effects
- A commercial optical transceiver capable of transmitting 20 gigabits per second and suitable for transoceanic applications
- A wide-band, low-noise hybrid optical repeater that features a Raman/EDF (Erbium Doped Fiber) amplifier
With the transmission speed of each signal rising to 20 gigabits/second, previous data volumes can now be obtained with half the number of waves. Equipment can therefore be more compact, and maintenance and communications costs reduced. Further details of the new technology are due to be announced at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference to be held on March 20, 2002 in Anaheim, California.
Demand for trunk networks is increasing in line with the more general increase in the popularity of Internet services. High-capacity optical cables cater to the majority of international demand for data transmission, resulting in calls from industry players for the technology to send many signals via a small number of cables.
WDM technologies, which combine a number of different wavelengths to considerably boost data transmission capacities, are the developers' response to this need. However, this technology requires more extensive setups and commensurately higher costs. Doubling the transmission speed of each wave to 20 gigabits/second will allow companies to reduce the amount of equipment involved in setup and thereby cut costs. Accomplishing this, however, requires improvements in signal-to-noise ratios and compensation for signal distortion induced by the non-linear properties of fibers. These issues have presented considerable difficulties in the past.
Bidding to overcome these technical challenges, Mitsubishi Electric devised an optical fiber design scheme that maximizes signal-to-noise ratios and an optical transmission protocol to minimize distortion. These advances enabled the company to realize its outstanding experimental results, in which a signal was sent over a distance of 8,400km. Engineers had previously considered a feat of this nature impossible.
In the future, Mitsubishi Electric plans to use inverse multiplexing techniques to pair wavelengths, and thereby double transmission speeds to 40 gigabits/second. With existing technologies, it is extremely difficult to directly send signals of this speed over transoceanic distances. However, the company plans to make such technical options a reality.