University College London (UCL) researchers have demonstrated a way to process fiber optic signals which could double the distance at which data travels error-free through transatlantic submarine cables.

The technique has the potential to lower costs of long-distance optical fiber communications, and also increase the useful capacity of fibers.

Optical fibers carry 99% of all data and this demand is rising with the increased use of Internet.

“By eliminating the interactions between the optical channels, we are able to double the distance of signals to be transmitted error-free, from 3,190 kilometers to 5,890 kilometers, which is the largest increase ever reported for this system architecture,” says study author Dr. Robert Maher, UCL Electronic & Electrical Engineering.

He says the challenge is to devise a technique to simultaneously capture a group of optical channels, known as a super-channel, with a single receiver. “This allows us to undo the distortion by sending the data channels back on a virtual digital journey at the same time.”

Researchers used a “16QAM super-channel” made from a set of frequencies, which can be coded using amplitude, phase and frequency to create a high-capacity optical signal. The super-channel then is detected using a high-speed super receiver and a new signal processing technique developed by the team which allows the reception of all channels together and with no errors.

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