The amount of data sent through fibre optic cables is rising exponentially, increasing energy usage at an unprecedented rate. Researchers may have a solution to render fibre optic communications systems much more energy efficient.
Electricity production cannot be increased at the same rate without massively increasing the fossil fuel burning for electricity generation, in turn leading to a significant increase in carbon emissions.
For five years, the researchers have been researching how to improve efficiency, and have developed a solution in the form of error-correcting data chip circuits, which they refined to be 10 times less energy consumptive: “The challenge lies in meeting that inevitable demand for capacity and performance, while keeping costs at a reasonable level and minimising the environmental impacts,” says Professor Peter Andrekson, a photonics expert at Chalmers University.
In the early phase of the project, the researchers identified the largest energy drains in today’s fibre optic systems. They then designed and built a concept for a system for data transmission which consumes as little energy as possible. Some of the most energy-intensive components are error-correction data chips, which are used in optical systems to compensate for noise and interference. The researchers have optimised the circuits in these chips to drastically improve energy efficiency.
At a systemic level, the researchers also demonstrated the advantages of using optical “frequency combs” instead of separate laser transmitters for each frequency channel. An optical frequency comb emits light at all wavelengths simultaneously, making the transmitter highly frequency-stable. This makes reception of the signals much easier, and consequently more energy efficient.
Energy savings can also be made through controlling fibre optic communications at the network level; by mathematically modelling the energy consumption in different network resources, data traffic can be controlled and directed so that the resources are utilised optimally. This is especially valuable if traffic varies over time, as is the case in most networks. For this, the researchers developed an optimisation algorithm which can reduce network energy consumption by up to 70 per cent.
“Improving the energy efficiency of data transmission requires multidisciplinary competence. The challenges lie at the meeting points between optical hardware, communications science, electronic engineering and more. That’s why this project has been so successful” said Professor Erik Agrell.
In December, researchers found they were able to use the network of underground fibre-optic cables to detect thunder-induced seismic events, or thunderquakes
Source: eandt.theiet.
