China Information and Communication Technologies Group Corporation (CICT) announced on March 24 that its State Key Laboratory of Optical Communication Technologies and Networks achieved real-time optical transmission of 2.5 Pbit/s by using 24-core optical fiber, setting a new world record.
CICT said this new world record in optical communication was an outcome of collaboration between CICT’s lab, Pengcheng Laboratory and Fujikura Fiber Home Opto-Electronics Material Technology Co., Ltd.
The achievement means that 290,000 GiB (1Pbit = 116,415GiB) can be transmitted each second, the equivalent of downloading more than 14,000 20 GiB ultra-high-definition movies. At this speed, interactions can be completed instantly, even with the massive amount of data used to train large AI models.
Amid the large-scale development of AI, large-model computing and data centers, network traffic sees explosive growth. The traditional, single-mode optical fiber transmission system is being pushed to the edge of its capacity limits, so there is demand for new technology to meet the needs.
The traditional single-mode optical fiber transmission line is like a single-lane road, and the 24-core optical fiber transmission line is like a 24-lane highway. The simultaneous operation of the short wavelength band, conventional band and long wavelength band can be compared to a highway with two additional overpasses, which enable data to fly along it.
In this experiment, CICT has employed the independently developed 400-GiB optical module, which integrates three different bands, thereby achieving real-time, error-free transmission. This marks that the technology is just one step away from commercialization. The technology can be used to interconnect data centers and build an optical backbone network and ultra-high-speed optical transmission networks, thereby boosting the digital economy through high-speed, stable and large-capacity optical communication.
CICT has long focused on the research and development of optical transmission technology featuring ultra-large capacity, ultra-high speed and ultra-long distance. It has promoted the independent innovation and commercialization of core technologies. The newly achieved technological breakthrough proves the technological feasibility of space division multiplexing and multiple band integration in ultra-large-capacity optical communication, thereby providing a new roadmap for the R&D of the next generation of optical communication systems.
(Executive editor: Zuo Shihan)
