The World's Fastest Internet, 44.2 Tbps, Achieved With Just An Optical Chip

Researchers have tested and recorded the fastest internet speed in the world from just an optical chip.

According to the paper, Australian researchers reported they achieved a data speed of 44.2 Tbps (terabits per second) from a light source. This speed allows for downloading a thousand HD movies in a second. Even better, they tested this using existing communications infrastructure, not in a lab.

Bill Corcoran, the paper’s co-lead author, said:

“We’ve developed something that is scalable to meet future needs. And it’s not just Netflix we’re talking about here: it’s the broader scale of what we use our communication networks for.”

This project involved the participation of RMIT and Swinburne University. They added a micro-comb to 76.6 km of optical fibres between the two campuses.

The micro-comb is like a rainbow that’s consists of hundreds of high-quality infrared lasers from one chip. Each laser can act as a standalone communications channel.

The researchers sent maximum data through each channel, which simulate the highest volume of internet usage, across 4THz bandwidth, reaching 44.2 Tbps of data speed. Arnan Mitchell from RMIT said:

“Long term, we hope to create integrated photonic chips that could enable this sort of data rate to be achieved across existing optical fibre links with minimal cost.”

“Initially, these would be attractive for ultra-high-speed communications between data centres. However, we could imagine this technology becoming sufficiently low cost and compact that it could be deployed for commercial use by the general public in cities across the world.” 

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