New discoveries are always exciting. Today we found a team from University of Nottingham who leveraged the Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL), the latest development in Terahertz frequency technology to make high-frequency modulations. While this breakthrough can have many possibilities, one interesting technological advancement we see is the rapid development of data transfer rates, specifically the internet.
This new research made by fellows at the University of Nottingham has proved modulating frequencies at rapid levels by using Quantum Cascade Lasers. This enables transmitting data through current internet cables at unimaginable speeds! And the rate theoretically is over 100 gigabits per second, which is a thousand times higher than today’s average internet speed.
Here, the researchers leveraged Quantum Cascade Lasers of Terahertz frequencies to improve data transfer rates. This tech is so crucial as it can send out light in the terahertz range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which can be used for super-fast communications. These improved data connections can help many organizations include satellite communications.
While this research can help many processes, using it for faster communications is the real benefit we see first. This happens by sending data through the lasers, which blink about 100 billion times a second! Handling such blink rates could be hard, but researchers have done it anyway. They’ve found modulating it by sound and light.
Citing the research, John Cunningham, Professor of Nanoelectronics at Leeds said, “This is exciting research. At the moment, the system for modulating a quantum cascade laser is electrically driven – but that system has limitations. Ironically, the same electronics that deliver the modulation usually puts a brake on the speed of the modulation. The mechanism we are developing relies instead on acoustic waves.”
This research isn’t perfect yet. But considering it’s just in a nascent stage, we expect future developments of this can really make this 100 GBPS internet possible for all households. The research report was published in Nature Communications, where you can have a detailed look at how they had done it.