Lightwave Logic’s electro-optic polymer (EO) technology is an ideal solution for the high-speed optical fiber communications market.
Application of Electro-Optic (EO) Polymers to High-Speed Optical Fiber Communications
A fiber link sends data from a transmitter to a receiver through an optical fiber cable. Lightwave Logic’s technology can be used to make a data modulator, a central function of the transmitter.
Market Segments
Datacenters and high-performance computing (HPC) are two market segments that demand the very highest speed optical fiber communications. The datacenter fiber communications segment includes applications ranging from connections inside hyperscale datacenters to fiber links between datacenter campuses.
Optical fiber communication is the infrastructure that supports internet content through its entire lifecycle, between businesses, consumers and datacenters. Behind the scenes, massive amounts of data move between computer processors inside datacenters (or inside supercomputers) as content is generated. In addition to these intra-datacenter links, there are also significant datacenter interconnection links between big datacenters to provide flexible capacity and resilience – all of these represent significant addressable market segments for Lightwave Logic’s technology.
Inside Datacenters Between Datacenters
Advantages of EO Polymers for High-Speed Optical Fiber Communications
Modulator performance limits the speed of the transmitter, which in turn limits the data-carrying capacity of the entire fiber link. EO polymers have superior speed and sharply reduce the electrical power needed to operate the modulators.
Large and Growing Optical Fiber Communications Market
Lightwave Logic estimates that in 2019, the total market for opto-electronic components used in the fiber optics market reached a value of ~$26 billion and is forecasted to grow to approximately $80 billion by 2030.
Above: Market forecasts for photonic (electro-optic) components and transceivers used in optical fiber communications. (Source: Oculi LLC)
The growth in the optical fiber communications market is driven by many factors, primarily:
- Increasing richness, and therefore file size, of content
- Increasing access to high-speed internet service
- Faster response times
The historic trend has been a migration from text to graphics, followed by still graphics to increasingly high-definition video. On the accessibility front, the introduction of 5G will enable low-cost mobile internet connections at the same, or higher speeds, as today’s home broadband. This trend continues today as users demand more data at all times.
Recently, particularly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a sharp increase in reliance on video-conferencing services, often replacing in-person meetings. As video conferencing becomes more commonly used, users will continue to demand faster response times to enable no-lag, real-time communications in full HD.
Other Markets
The benefits of EO polymers, such as low power usage, high speed, increased throughput and lower cost make them ideally suited for markets outside of communications as well, including in consumer, media, augmented reality/virtual reality, medical and industrial applications.