Breakthrough in Opticalโ fiber Technology Promises Faster, Longer-Rangeโ Data Transmission
Southampton, UK – September โ1, 2025 – researchers at theโฃ University of Southamptonโ have unveiled a novel optical fiberโฃ design that dramatically โreduces โsignal loss, potentially revolutionizing telecommunications adn enablingโ significantly faster data transmissionโ over longer distances. The โfindings, published โtoday in Natureโ Photonics, detail a fiberโข utilizingโฃ a hollow air core โsurrounded by a meticulouslyโฃ engineered glass microstructure.
Traditional optical fibers rely on solid silicaโฃ glass to guide light, but decades of optimization have โขhit a performance ceiling due to inherent signal loss. Currently, approximately half the light signal โis lost after traveling justโ 20 kilometers, necessitating frequent optical amplifiers forโ long-distanceโค interactionโข links – suchโค as those spanning continents orโ crossing oceans.
The new fiber designโค overcomesโฃ this โlimitation. Testing in laboratory โsettings demonstrated an opticalโ loss of only 0.091 โขdecibels per kilometer at aโค commonlyโ used light wavelength.This translates to signals โคtraveling roughly 50% โfurther before requiring amplification.
“We are confident that,with โขadvancements in produced volumes,geometrical consistencyโ and reducedโค presence of absorbing gases in the core,the new fibers โฃwillโค establish themselves as a pivotal waveguiding technology,”โ said the researchers.
Beyond increased distance, the innovative design also boasts โa significantly broader transmission window – the range of wavelengths where light can travel โwith minimal signal loss and distortion – compared โขto โคconventional โขfibers. This wider bandwidth โคallows for the transmission ofโ more data concurrently, increasing transmission โspeeds by 45%.
The team, led by researcher โFrancesco Poletti, achieved this breakthrough by replacing the โsolid glass core with air, guided โฃby a precise pattern of thin silica rings. While the researchers believe even lower losses are โpossible with a larger air core, โfurther examination is needed.
“This innovation has the potential to enable the next technological leap in data communications,” the researchers stated.
The research is detailed inโ theโ paper, “Broadband optical fibre with an attenuationโฃ lower thanโฃ 0.1โ decibel per kilometre” by M.โ Petrovich et al., Nat. Photon,published online โSeptember 1,2025; doi: 10.1038/s41566-025-01747-5.
