Russia.. Developing underwater green optical communication technology

This was reported by the Photonics Competence Center.

“Underwater optical communication systems are very promising for marine navigation, as they are a high-speed communication channel in the aquatic environment. The main advantages of this method of communication, compared to hydroacoustic and electromagnetic methods, are high data transfer speeds of more than 1 Mbit/s, stealth, rapid deployment and the ability to communicate with several underwater devices at once. Water absorbs a limited amount of green light, which can be used to perform various tasks. This type of communication will expand the capabilities and complement the existing ones in the waters of the Northern Sea Route (Arctic Ocean),” said a researcher at St. Petersburg’s Alfeyrov University.

According to scientists, in the Nanotechnology Laboratory of Alferov University, they have developed a prototype of a device that emits green light based on crystals grown in the form of nanowires or thread-like nanocrystals (hairs). The technology of growing such crystals is what makes it possible to obtain green light.

“Thanks to the use of filamentary crystals, it is possible to develop sources of single photons. This technology opens up new prospects for integrating optical elements with silicon technology, which can significantly increase the efficiency of light-emitting devices and will be another step towards creating Russian-made photonic integrated circuits,” said Vladislav Gridshin, a researcher at the university.

Underwater fiber optic systems pass through the ocean floor and transmit data in the form of encoded signals using photons. They currently ensure the transmission of more than 95% of all information in the world. The infrastructure of underwater fiber optic systems is developing at a rapid pace because it has a higher throughput than communications achieved via satellite.

A source in the Photonics Center said that there is only one company from Germany developing such research on the world market, so the Russian development has every chance to take a leading position in this area with the help of modified properties of green LEDs, which can be used in underwater information transmission systems.

Source: TASS