Fraunhofer IAF and KIT Set Wireless Data Transmission Record

Researchers from the Fraunhofer (News - Alert) IAF and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) announced on Thursday they have set a new world record in wireless data transmission. For the first time, researchers have been able to produce fully integrated electronic transmitters and receivers for a frequency of 240GHz, which allows the transmission of data rates of up to 40Gbit/s.

Seeming to be much safer than what Japanese researchers were able to produce using the terahertz band, the transmission rate produced by these electronic transmitters is equal to the transmission of a complete DVD in under a second, or 2400 DSL16000 Internet connections.

“This makes our radio link easier to install compared to free-space optical systems for data transmission. It also shows better robustness in poor weather conditions such as fog or rain,” Jochen Antes of KIT said in a statement. “Improving the spectral efficiency by using more complex modulation formats or a combination of several channels, i.e. multiplexing, will help to achieve even higher data rates.”

Radio links such as these will be able to close gaps in providing broadband Internet by supplementing the network in rural areas and places, which are difficult to access. This is possible by using broadband radio links that can surpass natural or urban obstacles that normally get in the way when deploying typical fiber-optic cables.

This news comes shortly after researchers at KIT helped develop a thermal invisibility cloak, which will make any form of thermal imaging useless.

Fraunhofer IAF is a player in the field of III-V semiconductors, developing electronic and optical devices based on modern micro and nano-structures in areas such as security, energy, communications, health and mobility.

Founded in October 2009, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology operates along the three fields of research, teaching and innovation. KIT’s research institution of the Helmholtz Association conducts program-oriented and thorough research on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany.