Researchers achieve record in data transmission with light

In the journal Nature, the scientists report that they have achieved a data transmission rate of 55 terabits per second over a distance of 75 kilometers. This is equivalent to more than five billion telephone calls or more than two million television channels, as the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) announced on Thursday.

At the heart of the technology are so-called microresonators made of silicon nitride, which are used to generate wave packets that propagate without changing their shape. The microresonators are so small that they fit on chips and can be integrated into compact communication systems. According to Christian Koos from KIT, the data rate now achieved is the highest that has ever been achieved with a frequency comb source in chip format. The "Laboratory of Photonics and Quantum Measurements" at EPFL is also involved in the research. (SDA)