A single computer chip recorded 1.84 petabits of information per second using a fiber optic cable, which is enough speed to transfer 230 million images during that time period as well as more than traverses the entire internet’s backbone network in a second.
Asbjorn Arvad Jorgensen from The Technical University of Denmark in Copenhagen and his team have utilized the photonic chip, which allows optical elements to be incorporated on computer chips that split a data stream into thousands of channels and then transmit them all at once across 7.9 kilometers.
The team first divided their data stream in 37 segments each delivered to a different portion of optical fiber cable. After that, each of the channels was broken down into 223 chunks of data which comprised individual sections that comprised the electromagnetic spectrum. This “frequency combing” consisting of identical lights that swept across the spectrum enabled data to be sent in various colors simultaneously without interfering which massively increased capability of the core.
Data Transfer Speeds
While data transfer speeds as high as 10.66 petabits/second have been recorded without the use of bulky equipment this research breaks records for data transmission using just one computer chip as an energy source. The technology could allow for the creation of basic single chips that could transmit far more data than the existing models, cutting down on the cost of energy and increasing bandwidth.
The amount of data exchanged in the experiment was massive that there is no computer capable of supplying or receiving such a large amount of data so fast. In the experiments, the team instead transmitted “dummy data” across all channels, Jorgensen explains, and then checked the output of each channel at a time , to confirm that the data was being transmitted and was returned without any issues.
“You can say that the average traffic on the internet around the globe is 1 petabyte per second. The amount of data we send is two times as much,” says Jorgensen. “It’s an enormous amount of data we’re transmitting, basically less than a square millimeter. It’s a testament that we’re capable of going far more than we do currently with the internet connection.”
Single Laser Chip
The chip requires a single laser that is shining continuously that is divided into a variety of frequencies, and separate devices that encode information into the streams of output. However, Jorgensen suggests that these devices could be integrated into the chip and make the whole system as big as the size of a matchbox.
Current devices for sending information using only one laser within a single portion of spectrum has been reduced to a size. Jorgensen believes that if the device was built in the same size as the size of a server, it could send more data than the matchbox-sized devices that currently exist for every channel the team could transmit using one cable.
