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Wire & Cable ASIA – July/August 2013
Researchers from Scotland and
India are working together to develop a
game-changing platform for optical
communications to meet the
ever-increasing demand for faster data
streaming.
They will be developing amplifiers and
lasers, which could increase
exponentially the amount of data that
can be carried by glass fibres no
thicker than a human hair.
The demand for bandwidth in optical
communications continues to grow
with the rapid growth in online visual
communications, online gaming, video
streaming and so on.
The wiring of international data centres
is already a massive challenge, as
current technologies which use single
core fibres reach their limit.
Researchers believe that, without
further advances in the science,
bottlenecks will form at long haul
communications nodes.
Now ‘multi-core’ fibre (MCF) is widely
considered to promise a solution to the
problem.
The active fibre components that the
Scottish-Indian team are developing
will enable future networks to be built.
The team is drawn from Heriot-Watt
University’s School of Engineering and
Physical Sciences, led by Dr Henry
Bookey, and the Central Glass and
Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI) in
Kolkata, led by Dr Mukul Chandra
Paul.
The Indian team brings expertise in the
fabrication of novel optical fibre
structures while the Scottish team will
design, test and build the devices
enabled by the new fibres.
Dr Bookey said: “With the prevalence
of video streaming and the emergence
of cloud computing, we’re reaching the
capacity of standard, single core fibres.
“Spatial division multiplexing in the
form of multi-core optical fibre (MCF) is
considered by many to be the next
platform for optical communications.
“This collaboration brings together
world leading groups in optical fibre
research and optics and represents a
rare opportunity to bring together key
technologies that could herald a step
change in the industry.”
Aside from components for
communications, the development of
multi-cored fibre laser array devices
may have other applications
including multi-functional fibre
probes for endoscopy, laser surgery,
machining and defence.
The project has been granted
£70,000 as part of the UK-India
Education and Research Initiative
(UKIERI) to cover staff and student
exchanges, as close interaction
between Heriot-Watt and the CGCRI
is needed in the fibre design stage
and device development stages of
the project.
Heriot-Watt University’s School of
Engineering and Physical Sciences
– UK
Website:
Meeting the demand for streaming