Selected for NICT’s 2024 Function Realization and International Joint R&D Program “Innovative ICT Fund Projects for Beyond 5G/6G”

Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (Head office: 2-6-4 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Hideya Moridaira) was selected by the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology (NICT) through open bidding for Research Project ①: R&D of bandwidth expanding optical node technologies for realizing ultra-fast, large capacity networks under the 2024 Function Realization and International Joint R&D Program “Innovative ICT Fund Projects for Beyond 5G/6G”.

As data volumes increase due to the shift to B5G (6G) and the promotion of cloud computing, it will be essential to strengthen the optical network connecting backbone networks and data centers. Therefore, the global optical transmission system market is expected to continue growing.
In the high-end optical transmission system market, which is driving this growth, it is expected that optical transmission systems in the 400G to 1.6Tbps range will be launched and bandwidth will be expanded from the C/L band to the S band to realize an all-photonics network (APN). It will be necessary to develop and put into practical use the optical components used for this.
With the aim of expanding the range of large capacity optical channels, Research Project ①: R&D of bandwidth expanding optical node technologies for realizing ultra-fast, large capacity networks under the 2024 Function Realization and International Joint R&D Program “Innovative ICT Fund Projects for Beyond 5G/6G“ Project involves the development of a bandwidth expanding optical transmission system and required key devices for realizing bandwidth expansion for optical transceivers and multiple wavelength optical nodes. These advances will contribute to the rapid realization of bandwidth expanding optical transmission systems that will support Beyond 5G telecommunications and the related supply chain.

Furukawa Electric will utilize our core technologies and knowledge of photonics to develop next generation optical semiconductor devices and optical components. In this four-year project (until 2027), we will develop Tunable light sources for next generation high speed network, Raman pump light sources and Optical amplifier for expanded bandwidth toward future transmission speeds of 1.6Tbps and bandwidth expansion from the current C/L band.