Glass out, plastic in: New fiber optic technology set to be deployed in AI data centers is both cheaper and faster

Date:
Mon, 05 May 2025 12:25:00 +0000

Description:
Japanese researchers have invented plastic fiber that slashes costs and
boosts AI data speeds to 106Gbps.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Japanese
researchers hit 106Gbps per core with plastic fiber breakthrough Multicore plastic fiber slashes costs and complexity for AI data centers Bit error rate drops 100,000-fold versus traditional glass-based systems

A team of researchers at Keio University in Japan has developed a
breakthrough plastic optical fiber (POF) technology that could transform short-range, high-speed communications in next-generation AI data centers.

Announced ahead of the Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC) 2025, the group revealed a multicore graded-index POF capable of transmitting data at
up to 106.25Gbps per core.

Led by Professor Yasuhiro Koike and Lecturer Kenta Muramoto at the Keio Photonics Research Institute, the project addresses a growing bottleneck in
AI infrastructure: the need for ultra-high-capacity, low-latency
interconnects between GPUs and accelerators in dense computing environments. Faster, more scalable AI infrastructure

Unlike traditional glass fibers, which require complex ribbonization and multicore connectors, the teams method allows for multicore POFs to be manufactured in one step using extrusion molding. This dramatically reduces costs and complexity, by a factor of 10 to 100, according to the researchers.

The new extrusion technique allows for mass production of multicore fibers regardless of core count or arrangement, making it adaptable to a wide range of data center designs.

Testing confirmed even after 30 meters of transmission at 106.25Gbps PAM4, signal integrity remained high, with minimal degradation in TDECQ. Bit error rates (BER) were reduced by up to 1/10,000 to 1/100,000 compared to conventional glass fibers.

According to the researchers, "GI-type POF has a property in which the fine non-uniform structure formed inside the core reduces the coherence of light, functioning as a volumetric noise reduction effect throughout the entire optical fiber."

This fine-grained internal structure diffuses optical coherence and acts as a volumetric noise reduction mechanism.

The teams multicore GI-POF, including a 61-core circular version and a 4-core rectangular variant, reportedly demonstrated high manufacturing reliability and stable transmission across all cores.

Combined with VCSELs (vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers), the system achieved 106.25Gbps PAM4 signal transmission over 30 meters without significant degradation.

Two papers detailing this work have been accepted at OFC 2025. With
increasing demand for efficient, high-performance interconnects, Keios multicore plastic fiber technology could be key to unlocking faster, more scalable AI infrastructure in the years ahead.

Via PC Watch (Image credit: Y. Koike and K. Muramoto, OFC 2025) You might
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/glass-out-plastic-in-new-fiber-optic-technology- set-to-be-deployed-in-ai-data-centers-is-both-cheaper-and-faster


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