FASTNET - Revolutionary hollow core low-latency fibres and cables for ultrafast next-generation optical networks

FASTNET - 用于超快下一代光网络的革命性空心低延迟光纤和电缆

• 批准号: EP/X025276/1
• 负责人: Francesco Poletti
• 金额: $ 364.84万
• 依托单位: University of Southampton
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FX025276%2F1
• 关键词: FASTNET; Revolutionary; hollow; core; low

The FASTNET Prosperity Partnership between Lumenisity and the Optoelectronics Research Centre at the University of Southampton will develop the first radically new optical communications medium in over 40 years. The program will make a one-third improvement in the speed at which data is transmitted, helping eliminate the lag and sluggish response of real-time interactive digital applications.This digital lag is caused by the time it takes to transmit data from the user to a distant remote datacentre and back to the user. It can cause sickness in augmented and virtual reality entertainment, it removes responsive feel in remote surgery and healthcare, and it slows autonomous systems presenting a risk that they may not react in time.The University of Southampton has pioneered a new way of transmitting high-capacity data in hollow optical fibre. Here, the data modulates a light beam that is transmitted in the air inside the fibre, rather than in the ultrapure glass that is in the centre of 100's of millions of kilometres of optical fibre used to connect the global internet today. By transmitting data in air, light travels 50% faster, whilst the design means the fibre is just as strong, lightweight and flexible as current technology, meaning it can be installed just as easily as current optical fibre cable. By transmitting data in air, the performance of this new hollow-core optical fibre is also much less dependent on the properties of the glass from which it is made. This opens the possibility of transmitting much more data - the program will target increasing data capacity by up to 500%.Whilst major advances have been made in this new generation of hollow-core fibre, to date design and fabrication limitations mean that too much light has been lost when the fibre is incorporated into a cable as needed for real-world use, limiting its use to relatively short communication links. Moreover, the current manufacturing process is only capable of producing ~20km of fibre at a time, which ultimately represents a major impediment to widespread commercialization and deployment of the technology. The major objective of this Prosperity Partnership will be to develop new designs, fabrication processes and cabling techniques that mean hollow-core fibre cable loses less light than conventional optical fibre. It will then be able to transmit data over much longer distances than even conventional optical fibre, whilst delivering 30% faster speed and much greater data-carrying capacity.This project will leverage a 5-year commitment for co-investment by EPSRC and Lumenisity, an innovative new UK company formed in 2016 to bring hollow-core fibre cable and low lag (technically known as latency) communications to the market. Lumenisity is constructing a dedicated UK manufacturing facility and have built a world-leading engineering team with decades of optical technology, optical fibre and cable experience. They will work together with the University of Southampton to combine knowledge, facilities and globally leading research talent to overcome the technical challenges of reducing loss in hollow-core optical fibre, whilst maintaining its benefits in cabled form, and ensuring it can efficiently be manufactured in high volume within the UK.Achieving this ambitious goal will enable UK invented, innovated and manufactured next-generation hollow-core optical fibre to be used in global communication networks. This will reduce future latency and help increase bandwidth for everyone, thereby helping to support the entire future digital economy. FASTNET will be key to connecting the nation, improving productivity in digital manufacturing, and enhancing network security and resilience, whilst supporting next-generation 5G and 6G applications such as autonomous vehicles and remote healthcare.

Southampton大学的Lumenisity与光电研究中心之间的FastNet繁荣合作伙伴关系将在40多年内开发出第一种彻底新的光学通信媒介。该程序将在传输数据的速度方面提高三分之一，有助于消除实时交互式数字应用程序的滞后和缓慢的响应。这是由于将数据从用户传输到遥远的远程datacentre所花费的时间造成的，并返回给用户。它可能会引起增强和虚拟现实娱乐的疾病，它可以消除远程手术和医疗保健中的反应感，并且减慢了自主系统的危险，出现了它们可能不会及时反应的风险。SouthamptonUniversity率先开创了一种在空心光纤中传播高能力数据的新方法。在这里，数据调节了光束在纤维内部传播的光束，而不是在超过100千万公里的光纤中心的超纯玻璃中，该光束用于今天连接全球互联网。通过在空气中传输数据，Light的传播速度快50％，而设计意味着纤维与当前技术一样强，轻巧和灵活，这意味着它可以像当前的光纤电缆一样容易地安装。通过在空气中传输数据，这种新的空心核光纤的性能也少得多地依赖于制造的玻璃的性质。这打开了传输更多数据的可能性 - 该程序将将数据容量提高多达500％。当新一代的空心核纤维中已经取得了重大进展，迄今为止的设计和制造限制意味着，当纤维在需要时限制在现实使用的用途时，将光纤丢失了过多的光线，从而限制了其相对短的通信链接。此外，当前的制造过程只能一次生产约20公里的纤维，最终代表了广泛商业化和技术部署的主要障碍。这种繁荣合作伙伴关系的主要目标是开发新的设计，制造工艺和电缆技术，意味着空心芯纤维电缆的光照比传统的光纤少。 It will then be able to transmit data over much longer distances than even conventional optical fibre, whilst delivering 30% faster speed and much greater data-carrying capacity.This project will leverage a 5-year commitment for co-investment by EPSRC and Lumenisity, an innovative new UK company formed in 2016 to bring hollow-core fibre cable and low lag (technically known as latency) communications to the market. Lumenisity正在建造一个专门的英国制造工厂，并建立了一个拥有数十年光学技术，光纤和电缆体验的世界领先的工程团队。他们将与南安普敦大学合作，结合知识，设施和全球领先的研究人才，以克服减少空心核心光纤损失的技术挑战，同时保持其在有线形式的好处，并在英国内有效地在英国内有效地在英国内部有效地制造出这种杰出的全球范围。网络。这将减少未来的延迟，并帮助每个人增加带宽，从而帮助支持整个未来的数字经济。 FastNet将是连接国家，提高数字制造业生产率并增强网络安全性和弹性的关键，同时支持下一代5G和6G应用程序，例如自动驾驶汽车和远程医疗保健。