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Raising the speed limit on O
ptical fibre communication systems are the backbone of the connected world, as virtually all information transmitted over the global communications network is transformed into optical signals that propagate over optical fibres. The Lightwave Systems Research Laboratory (LSRL), located in Walter Light Hall, has more than $10-million worth of advanced test and measurement equipment that enables Dr. John Cartledge, Sci’74, MSc’76, PhD’79, and his research group to conduct innovative, real-world experiments aimed at increasing the bit rate and capacity of optical fibre communication systems to carry information and meet the explosive demand for services anticipated from the emerging Internet of Things. “The rising demand for cloud and social media services across the business, educational, health care and entertainment sectors is driving the expansion of the global communications network at dramatic rates of 40 per cent per year. Everybody wants to be more
connected, and the ever-increasing demand can be met only by continued innovation in optical communication systems and their enabling technologies,” says Cartledge, Professor and Queen’s Research Chair in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
A key focus of his research is to help push the per-channel bit rate of optical signals from the 100 gigabits per second provided by current commercial optical communication systems to 400 gigabits per second and one terabit per second. (A gigabit is one billion bits and a
Dr. Cartledge at the LSRL 16
THE COMPLETE ENGINEER
