New chip-scale optical wireless system hits 362 Gbps speeds

Researchers have developed a chip-scale optical wireless communication system that achieves ultra-fast data speeds of up to 362.7 Gbps over a two-meter free-space link while consuming significantly less energy than conventional Wi-Fi. The system uses an array of 25 vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), with 21 active lasers each transmitting between 13 and 19 Gbps in parallel. This parallel transmission approach, combined with a modulation technique that splits data into multiple frequency channels, enables high bandwidth and efficient use of the optical spectrum without interference from radio frequency systems. To manage potential signal overlap from multiple beams, the researchers designed an optical system using microlens arrays and additional optics to shape and direct each laser beam into distinct, uniform illumination zones. This beam shaping allows for multiuser operation in dense indoor environments, demonstrated by stable simultaneous links delivering a combined 22 Gbps in tests. The system’s energy efficiency, at about 1.4 nanojoules per bit, is roughly