Single carrier wireless link travels at 100Gb/s data rate

“Achieving 100 Gb/s transmission in a single carrier helps to fill the gap between the worlds of fibre-optics and radio. By combining the concept with dedicated architectures and photonic-based THz circuits we are paving the way for far faster wireless transmission than what’s possible today,” said Guillaume Ducournau, an associate professor at IEMN/CNRS/University Lille working on THz communication systems.

The purpose of the 802.15.3d standard is to provide for low complexity, low cost, low power consumption, very high data rate wireless connectivity among devices and in the future ‘low THz’ bands.

Potential applications include consumer multimedia, wireless switched point-to-point applications in data centres, wireless backhaul/front haul, intra-device communications and a wide variety of additional use cases such as rapid large multimedia data downloads and file exchanges between two devices in close proximity.

Achieving 100Gb/s and beyond requires the extension of carrier frequencies to the millimetre/sub-millimetre range, around 300GHz, also called the “THz band.”

Using a combination of optical coherent technologies and THz transceivers, this latest demonstration showcased the advances being made toward operational wireless links with THz frequencies and optical-equivalent data rates.

The demonstration was accomplished within the framework of several research projects including the COM’TONIQ, Era-net Chistera TERALINKS and TERASONIC ANR projects in THz communications.

The French Equipex programs, “FLUX” (high-speed guided fiber/wireless-based advanced data coms) and “ExCELSIOR” (advanced characterization of nano-devices and systems) also supported this effort along with IEMN platform facilities and the RENATECH French nanofabrication network, IRCICA USR-3380.

The demonstration was also supported by the CPER “Photonics for society” and contributes to the “digital world” Hub 3 of the I-Site Université de Lille Nord de France.

“Tektronix is delighted to be working in such close collaboration with IEMN on achieving this prestigious breakthrough,” said Dr. Klaus Engenhardt, CTO Tektronix EMEA. “It’s exciting to see our industry-leading end-to-end transmit and receive solution used to help bridge coherent optical and THz transceiver technologies. Advanced test tools are needed today to generate and characterise signals at 100G, 400G and beyond and Tektronix offers a wide portfolio of optical communication test solutions.”