The introduction of the fifth mobile network generation (5G) designed to support the IoT and AI generated big data, will transform the way we communicate and work, not only by interconnecting people but also machines, vehicles, etc. This, will place an unprecedented demand on the wired infrastructure, therefore accelerating the need for highspeed optical connections.
Nowadays, the main transmission medium is the optical fiber. However, there are still limitations associated with this technology in terms of capacity and space. The current fiber infrastructure cannot continue to support the foreseen demand without an upgrade. The most obvious way to increase the network capacity is to deploy cables with higher fiber count. However, this approach does not comply with the end users demand for "cost per bit” reduction. Furthermore, in many areas, the existing infrastructure can no longer accommodate an increased number of optical fiber cables.
The most promising approaches for communication systems is called Space Division Multiplexing, which utilizes multiple cores and/or modes as independent ‘spatial’ channels in a single fiber. This technology meet the demand of increasing capacity without increasing the amount of cable while simultaneously reducing installation costs and subsequently cost/bit. In this context, multicore single-mode fibers are foreseen as the key enablers of the new generation transmission systems.
Within the IPT-Core project we developed a technology that uses seven cores in a single microstructured fiber as separate spatial channels, which provides 7 times more capacity in the same space as in a standard optical fiber link. This project also contributed to the development of Fan-In/Fan-Out (FIFO) components to address each core independently and effectively provide the functionality of 7 fibers within a single fiber. In the approach we used for the IPT-Core, each single-mode core complies with the ITU-T G.652 recommendation so that well-developed transmission techniques can be used effectively. This provides a cost-effective replacement for target customers such as 5G operators, providers of FTTx services, and data centres. The company is on the way to becoming the world’s first mass-scale multicore optical fibre supplier in line with telecom standards. The outcome of the IPT-Core Project places InPhoTech amongst the most developed companies in the field of multicore optical fiber (MCF) technology and creates a chance to be an important supplier on the global market.
The project and the support received from the H2020 programme have contributed to achieving the following objectives:
1. Successful manufacturing of 10km of IPT-CORE optical fiber
2. Successful manufacturing of state of the art low loss fan-in/fan-out components
3. Numerous successful demonstrations of the solution to clients and target users
4. Building an efficient foundation for commercialization
