Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and the Internet of Vehicles are pushing global data traffic to new heights. Data centres now face relentless pressure to boost speed, efficiency, and capacity.
Over 70% of this data moves within short distances—often under 2 km—inside and between data centres. These short hops create tricky engineering problems for optical interconnects.
Researchers have stepped up with a fresh architecture called FNT-SHCD. It blends Fermat number transform processing, self-homodyne coherent detection, and hollow-core fibre tech.
This approach looks set to deliver huge data rates while slashing power and latency. It could shake up how we think about next-gen data centre infrastructure.
The Challenge of High-Speed, Low-Latency Data Centre Interconnects
Modern data centre interconnects (DCIs) have tough specs to hit. They need ultra-high speeds—think 1.6–3.2 Tb/s—and must cover distances from 500 metres to 10 km.
Performance has to be sharp, with low latency and minimal power use. Coherent optical systems get high marks for spectral efficiency and resilience.
But they lean on power-hungry digital signal processing (DSP), and that brings latency. For real-time or latency-sensitive jobs—AI inference, for example—those delays just don’t cut it.
Why Current Optical Solutions Fall Short
Conventional coherent systems shine on long hauls. But their heavy DSP needs become a drag for short-range interconnects.
Workloads like machine learning model updates or autonomous vehicle coordination can’t afford even microseconds of lag. This shortfall has opened the door for new, purpose-built designs.
FNT-SHCD: A Breakthrough in Optical Interconnect Design
The FNT-SHCD architecture brings together three standout ideas:
- Fermat Number Transform (FNT)-based DSP: Cuts computational load by swapping out multiplications for cyclic shifts, dropping DSP effort by 90%.
- Self-Homodyne Coherent Detection (SHCD): Skips complex carrier recovery by sending a residual carrier tone with the data.
- Hollow-Core Fibre Technology: Uses nested anti-resonant nodeless fibre (NANF) for lower latency and better optical performance.
Lower Latency and Improved Signal Quality
Hollow-core NANF fibres let light travel through a near-vacuum at the core. This setup slashes propagation latency.
Tests show a 28.4% reduction compared to regular single-mode fibres. The design also keeps Rayleigh scattering and optical nonlinearity in check—issues that usually hurt signal quality in short links.
Power and Cost Savings Through Optical Innovation
By sending a residual carrier tone, FNT-SHCD uses optical injection locking to regenerate the local oscillator. This move sidesteps the need for expensive, ultra-stable lasers.
It saves on equipment costs and boosts energy efficiency, especially at scale.
Bidirectional Transmission and Spectrum Conservation
One of the most striking features here is bidirectional transmission at a single wavelength. That really helps conserve fibre and optical spectrum—no small thing, since available wavelengths are always in short supply in high-capacity networks.
Performance Validated in Real-World Testing
In real-world tests, the FNT-SHCD system showed some strong results:
- +1.27 dB improvement in receiver sensitivity.
- Better spectral efficiency than standard polarization- or spatial-division multiplexing approaches.
- Solid operation across the short-haul distances you find in modern data centres.
Conclusion: A Future-Proof Architecture for Data Centres
Data centre infrastructures keep evolving to handle the demands of AI, cloud computing, and whatever new tech pops up next. The FNT-SHCD system feels like a real leap forward here.
It brings together advanced DSP methods, self-homodyne detection, and hollow-core fibre. That combo delivers on high capacity, low latency, and lower power use—all at once. Network engineers, operators, and tech strategists should probably keep an eye on these kinds of solutions if they want to stay ahead.
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Here is the source article for this story: Coherent optical interconnects using Fermat number transform and hollow core fibre