{"id":23460,"date":"2025-01-07T09:56:57","date_gmt":"2025-01-07T00:56:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdgs.kyushu-u.ac.jp\/?p=23460"},"modified":"2025-02-06T15:42:55","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T06:42:55","slug":"beyond-5g-accelerating-the-world-of-ultra-high-speed-optical-data-transmission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sdgs.kyushu-u.ac.jp\/en\/23460","title":{"rendered":"Beyond 5G, accelerating the world of ultra-high-speed optical data transmission"},"content":{"rendered":"

Professor Shiyoshi Yokoyama
\nInstitute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Researchers develop a new ultrahigh-speed optical modulator that can operate at more than 10 times the speed of current devices<\/h5>\n

Fukuoka, Japan\u2014Kyushu University researchers have successfully developed an ultrahigh-speed optical modulator that can operate at more than 10 times the speed of current devices. This modulator was made thanks to a new method the team developed that allowed them to grow thin films of ferroelectric crystals on silicon substrates.<\/p>\n

Optical communication technology is the bedrock of our modern internet. Thousands of kilometers of fiberoptic cable are laid across the globe, providing the data needed for our modern digital age. Transferring that data is done using light, hence the need for fiberoptic material that can contain said light between major distances.<\/p>\n

\u201cOptical fiber traffic is rapidly increasing year by year, and the need for devices and systems capable of faster transmission is growing. Devices called optical modulators are critical for this future,\u201d explains Professor Shiyoshi Yokoyama of Kyushu University\u2019s Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering and who led the study published in communications materials. \u201cOptical modulators are devices that help generate high-speed signals from optical fibers. They can convert or change things like the intensity, phase, or frequency of the light using electrical signals.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the biggest hurdles in making ultrahigh-speed optical data transmission is in finding the right materials capable of providing such speeds. Today, optical modulators are being built from semiconductors, inorganic crystals, and even polymers. Yokoyama and his team focused on a type of material called ferroelectric crystals, a material that exhibit spontaneous electrical polarization.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese materials have high electro-optic effects and are prime candidates to be optical modulators. However, it has been difficult to form them into the thin films necessary for use in optical devices,\u201d continues Yokoyama. \u201cThankfully, our team was able to develop a method that to grown ferroelectric crystals on thin films of silicon.\u201d<\/p>\n

The material, that the team is call PLZT, was developed into an optical modulator that was 2.5 mm in length. Following tests, they found that their new ferroelectric modulator exhibited modulation of up to 170 Gbps\u2014an operating 10 times higher than existing\u3000devices\u2014and a transmission rate of more than 300 Gbps using a four-level pulse modulation.<\/p>\n

The team hopes their research can be utilized in future optical network transmissions technologies, as well as support future 6G technologies and optical quantum computers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe demand for higher data speeds in optical fiber communications will continue to grow, and data centers will require higher density signal transmissions and processing. I expect our new optical modulator will contribute to this continually expanding industry,\u201d concludes Yokoyama.<\/p>\n

Research-related inquiries<\/h4>\n


\nShiyoshi Yokoyama, Professor<\/a>
\nDepartment of Advanced Device Materials, Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering
\nContact information can also be found in the full release<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Professor Shiyoshi Yokoyama Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering Researchers develop a new ultrahigh-speed optical modulator that can operate at more than 10 times the speed of current devices Fukuoka, Japan\u2014Kyushu University researchers have successfully developed an ultrahigh-speed optical modulator that can operate at more than 10 times the speed of current devices. This modulator […]","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[29],"tags":[43],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sdgs.kyushu-u.ac.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23460"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sdgs.kyushu-u.ac.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sdgs.kyushu-u.ac.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sdgs.kyushu-u.ac.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sdgs.kyushu-u.ac.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23460"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/sdgs.kyushu-u.ac.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24206,"href":"https:\/\/sdgs.kyushu-u.ac.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23460\/revisions\/24206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sdgs.kyushu-u.ac.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sdgs.kyushu-u.ac.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sdgs.kyushu-u.ac.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}