Fiber-optic monitoring system drives 5G light-powered networks
A new multicore fiber-optic monitoring system has the potential to enhance 5G. According to researchers at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), in collaboration with the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (UPV), such a system, which they have patented, could optimize energy consumption and preserve data transmission capacity.
The team’s work could lead to a parallel system, in which they will continually monitor the node’s energy needs. And in obtaining a single optical signal, “the system can also monitor temperature changes in the fiber core, energy distribution using optical means at different network points, and the state of the communication channel used within the fiber.”
“If lots of energy is sent, the temperature inside the fiber might increase and, therefore, could be damaged,” says Carmen Vázquez, a professor in the Department of Electronic Technology at UC3M. “This system helps us know how much energy we are sending and make sure that the infrastructure we are using to send that energy is in good condition and we are not damaging it.”
The research team’s work has found the system could be integrated in communication channels themselves with minimal insertion loss, in addition to monitoring on a different control channel than the channel used to send energy.
The UC3M and UPV team worked with the ITEAM-UPV’s Photonics Research Labs, which aided the study and manufacturing of some of its components.
“Fiber-manufactured devices monitor the power reaching the nodes in real time, while indicating the temperature [and] without affecting the power of the data being transmitted,” says Salvador Sales, professor and researcher at the ITEAM-UPV. “This is the basis for the technique developed by the UC3M [and UPV] group.”
The researchers note that this system is the first of its kind. Reference: F. M. A. Al-Zubaidi, J. D. López Cardona, D. S. Montero, and C. Vázquez, J. Light. Technol., 39, 13 (Jul. 1, 2021); doi:10.1109/jlt.2021.3074193.
Justine Murphy | Multimedia Director, Digital Infrastructure
Justine Murphy is the multimedia director for Endeavor Business Media's Digital Infrastructure Group. She is a multiple award-winning writer and editor with more 20 years of experience in newspaper publishing as well as public relations, marketing, and communications. For nearly 10 years, she has covered all facets of the optics and photonics industry as an editor, writer, web news anchor, and podcast host for an internationally reaching magazine publishing company. Her work has earned accolades from the New England Press Association as well as the SIIA/Jesse H. Neal Awards. She received a B.A. from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.