Articles tagged with "optical-communication"
Google plans orbital AI data centers powered directly by sunlight
Google has announced Project Suncatcher, an ambitious research initiative aiming to develop orbital AI data centers powered directly by solar energy. The project envisions constellations of satellites equipped with Google’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) operating in sun-synchronous low-Earth orbits to harness nearly continuous sunlight, enabling highly scalable AI computing beyond Earth’s energy and resource constraints. These satellites would be interconnected via high-bandwidth free-space optical links, potentially reaching multi-terabit per second data transfer rates, to form a tightly clustered “AI constellation” capable of handling large-scale machine learning workloads. Key technical challenges addressed include maintaining high data transmission rates between satellites flying just hundreds of meters apart using dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) and spatial multiplexing, as well as ensuring radiation resilience of the compute hardware. Google’s TPU v6e chips have demonstrated strong resistance to radiation in proton beam tests. The project is still in early research stages, with plans to launch two prototype satellites by early 202
energysolar-powersatellite-technologyAI-infrastructurespace-based-computingmachine-learningoptical-communicationResearchers transmit photons from moving plane in major quantum leap
A consortium of German researchers has achieved a significant breakthrough in quantum communication by successfully transmitting individual photons from a moving DLR Dornier 228 research aircraft to a mobile ground station, verifying their quantum states. This experiment, part of Germany’s QuNET initiative, demonstrated key technologies for quantum key distribution (QKD), which uses photons to create encryption keys that are practically impossible to intercept undetected. The research utilized an optical communication terminal equipped with a quantum-entangled photon generator developed by the Fraunhofer Institute, and a specialized mobile receiving station called QuBUS, which employed advanced tracking and adaptive optics to maintain a stable connection despite atmospheric turbulence. The photons captured by QuBUS were transmitted via fiber optics to an ion trap at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light for detailed quantum state analysis, successfully meeting one of the experiment’s primary objectives. This achievement highlights the potential of mobile platforms like aircraft—and eventually satellites—to establish global, tap-proof quantum communication networks. Such networks promise unprecedented security for governmental and
quantum-communicationphoton-transmissionquantum-key-distributionsecure-communicationoptical-communicationsatellite-quantum-networksquantum-encryptionNew Tiny chip creates 'rainbow laser' for faster data speeds
Researchers at Columbia University, led by Michal Lipson, have developed a tiny chip that generates powerful “frequency combs”—light sources composed of dozens of evenly spaced wavelengths. This innovation enables multiple data streams to be transmitted simultaneously through a single optical fiber, addressing a critical bottleneck in current fiber-optic networks that typically rely on single-wavelength lasers. The chip effectively cleans up and stabilizes the chaotic output of a high-power multimode laser diode using a locking mechanism, producing a high-coherence, multi-frequency laser source on a compact silicon photonics platform. This breakthrough has significant implications for modern computing and data centers, especially as artificial intelligence drives an exponential increase in data demand. By replacing bulky, expensive laser systems with a single compact device capable of delivering many clean, high-power channels, the technology promises faster, more energy-efficient data transmission and reduced costs and space requirements. Beyond data communications, the chip’s ability to produce precise frequency combs could also benefit applications in compact spectrometers,
IoTsilicon-photonicsfrequency-combdata-centerslaser-technologymicrochipoptical-communication10-watt laser sends 1 Gbps from plane to satellite in world-first test
General Atomics (GA-EMS) and Kepler Communications have achieved the world’s first high-speed laser communication link between an aircraft and a satellite, transmitting data at rates up to 1 gigabit per second over a distance of nearly 3,400 miles. The test involved a 10-watt Optical Communication Terminal (OCT) mounted on a De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter plane communicating with a Kepler satellite in low Earth orbit, compatible with the U.S. Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Tranche 0 architecture. This milestone validates a critical component of the Pentagon’s proliferated space network, demonstrating secure, high-throughput data transfer capabilities between airborne platforms and orbiting satellites. The system’s success highlights the challenges and advancements in free-space optical communications, which require precise pointing, acquisition, tracking, and lock mechanisms to maintain stable links from moving platforms to satellites. General Atomics’ OCT, housed in a Laser Airborne Communication Turret (
IoTsatellite-communicationlaser-communicationoptical-communicationaerospace-technologysecure-data-transmissionspace-networkSmartlet microrobots coordinate underwater using light signals
Researchers at Chemnitz University of Technology have developed “smartlet” microrobots—tiny, millimeter-scale cube-shaped devices capable of autonomous movement and communication underwater. Constructed from flexible, origami-inspired materials, each smartlet integrates solar cells, onboard processors, micro-LEDs, and photodiodes, enabling them to harvest light for power and use optical signals for communication without external controls. Propelled by bubble-generating engines that control buoyancy, these microrobots can coordinate their actions through light-based signaling, allowing synchronized group behaviors and decentralized control. This innovation marks a significant advance in creating distributed robotic systems that mimic collective intelligence found in nature. By combining energy harvesting and communication in a compact, wireless loop, the smartlets eliminate the need for bulky external equipment like magnets or cameras. The researchers envision diverse applications, including medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and soft robotics, where these biocompatible, untethered robots could perform complex sensing and adaptive tasks in fluidic
robotmicrorobotsunderwater-roboticsoptical-communicationsolar-cellsautonomous-systemsdistributed-intelligenceA clever glass trick fixes the decade-old photonic crystal laser problem
Engineers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) have solved a decade-old challenge in photonic-crystal surface-emitting lasers (PCSELs) by replacing the traditionally used fragile air holes in the photonic crystal layer with embedded silicon dioxide, a solid dielectric material. This innovation prevents the collapse of the photonic crystal structure during semiconductor regrowth, a problem that previously hindered PCSEL development. Despite silicon dioxide being amorphous and difficult for semiconductor growth, the team successfully grew semiconductor layers laterally around the dielectric and merged them via coalescence, enabling the first demonstration of a room-temperature, eye-safe, photopumped PCSEL. This breakthrough creates a more stable, precise, and scalable PCSEL technology capable of producing high-brightness, narrow, circular laser beams suitable for applications such as LiDAR, optical communication, autonomous vehicle sensors, and defense systems. The use of solid dielectric material also simplifies fabrication and enhances device durability. However, the current design requires
materialsphotonic-crystalsilicon-dioxidelaser-technologysemiconductorPCSELoptical-communicationHair-thin chip transfers 100 million books in 7 minutes with just a spark of power
Scientists at Canada’s Université Laval have developed a groundbreaking optical chip that can transmit data at an unprecedented speed of 1,000 gigabits per second (Gbps) while consuming minimal energy—just four joules, comparable to heating one milliliter of water by one degree Celsius. This hair-thin chip uses pairs of microring modulators made from silicon to manipulate both the intensity and phase of light, enabling a dual-channel approach that vastly increases bandwidth within a compact size. This technology represents a significant leap from current systems, which typically max out at around 56 Gbps, allowing the transfer of data equivalent to 100 million books in under seven minutes. The innovation addresses the growing energy demands of AI data centers, where thousands of processors must communicate over long distances, resulting in extensive infrastructure and high power consumption. By enabling faster and more efficient communication as if processors were only meters apart, the chip could dramatically reduce energy use and physical footprint in AI systems. While still in the laboratory
energyphotonic-chipoptical-communicationdata-transmissionenergy-efficiencysilicon-microring-modulatorsAI-data-centers