Latvia creates a significant ICT innovation

Scientists from the Institute of Telecommunications of the Faculty of Electronics and Telecommunications of Riga Technical University (RTU) and their partners have created an innovation in ICT that will allow information to be transmitted faster, more securely and further.

"In the laboratory of the Communication Systems Technology Research Center of the RTU Telecommunications Institute, we have demonstrated that the optical frequency comb, generated on the whispering gallery microresonator, can be used in fibre optic communication systems. It allows transmitting information at a distance of 20 kilometres," says Jurģis Poriņš, Head of the Faculty of Electronics and Telecommunications.

A whispering gallery fashion microresonator is a glass bead fused to an optical fibre, where the generation of a frequency comb is initiated. Each carrier signal generated by the frequency comb allows replacing a single laser light source, creating a low-cost, energy-efficient solution for data transmission.

“With one laser beam, we excite the resonance in a microsphere, obtaining four narrow spectral lines that we can use as a data carrier. If we wanted to get four lines with the current technology, we would need four laser sources, ”explains the Jurģis Poriņš.

In cooperation with AFFOC Solutions, the innovation is tested in real-life conditions, testing potential commercial applications. Scientists and company representatives are convinced that the solution could be integrated into communication systems in the coming years. It would allow transmitting information at higher speeds, over longer distances and to a larger number of users with less signal delay and higher security.

This developed prototype for telecommunication applications is considered to be an important result of the cooperation between academia and the industry, which is represented in the project by AFFOC Solutions. Such cooperation directly promotes the creation of new knowledge and development of technologies, as well as, of course, raises Latvia's competitiveness in the ICT sector, ”emphasizes Toms Salgals, a scientist at AFFOC Solutions.

Source: labsoflatvia.com