DIGITAL LIFE

The scientific leap that threatens to retire traditional fiber optics

For decades, fiber optics was considered irreplaceable as the foundation of global telecommunications. But that reign may be coming to an end. Scientists at the University of Southampton in the UK have developed "hollow" fibers, made with air-filled channels instead of a solid glass core. This seemingly simple change represents a giant leap: increased speed, reduced loss, and new possibilities for the next generation of the internet.

In conventional optical fibers, about half of the light intensity is lost every 15 to 20 kilometers, requiring the installation of expensive and bulky repeaters. With hollow fibers, this distance increases to up to 33 kilometers, reducing the need for intermediate equipment and making networks cheaper.

But what's most impressive is their power: these channels can carry up to a thousand times more energy than current fibers, in addition to supporting different wavelengths, including single-photon pulses. This is crucial for future quantum networks, which will require secure and ultra-fast transmission.

Another advantage lies in the very nature of light: in air, it travels almost 45% faster than in glass. This makes hollow fibers veritable digital "highways," capable of delivering greater speed and efficiency.

Although the idea of ​​hollow fibers is not new, until now, their large-scale production was unfeasible due to their high cost and technical complexity. The group led by Francesco Poletti spent more than ten years perfecting the design and manufacturing process.

The solution was to develop a precise structure, formed by several small cylinders within a larger cylinder, capable of confining light without losses. Instead of solid glass, the team uses a hollow preform, which is kept under pressure during stretching to preserve the internal channels.

This innovation made production more stable and viable, paving the way for commercialization at scale.

The project has already left the laboratory. The Southampton-based startup Lumenisity has taken on the mission of mass-producing these fibers. In 2022, the company was acquired by Microsoft, which is interested in applying the technology to accelerate its data centers and prepare for the arrival of quantum computing.

According to Poletti, the economic impact will be enormous: if it's possible to eliminate one in every two or three repeater buildings in networks, operating costs will drop dramatically.

Preparing for the quantum internet...In addition to making current connections cheaper and faster, this advancement has strategic implications. Compatibility with quantum technologies is seen as a decisive differentiator: these networks need to transport individual photons with extremely low loss, something that was previously financially prohibitive.

For Tracy Northup, an experimental physicist at the University of Innsbruck, the expectation is that mass production will reduce prices and enable the global dissemination of this infrastructure.

If predictions are confirmed, hollow fibers could progressively replace glass fibers, offering a faster, more powerful internet ready for the quantum digital age.

mundophone