Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories gift progresses our goal of unlocking the capacity of optical communications

21 November, 2016

Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL) have generously pledged $100,000 towards the work of Prof Polina Bayvel in the UCL Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering.

Prof Bayvel has developed a longstanding relationship with MERL, which stemmed from Dr David Millar joining MERL from the UCL Optical Networks Group (ONG). This association has progressed with the involvement of Kieran Parsons (Senior Principal Research Scientist, Optical Team Leader) and Philip Orlik (Electronics & Communications Group Manager) at MERL. UCL ONG has benefited from ad hoc donations from MERL in recent years, but this latest donation is a 4-year agreement for a donation of $25,000 per year towards Prof Bayvel’s research from March 2016. 

The research performed using this funding is being carried out independently of MERL, however due to Dr Millar’s familiarity with the outstanding capabilities of the UCL ONG lab, there have been several collaborations.

Dr Millar and his team worked with UNLOC researchers most recently in July 2016. From this collaboration, we have achieved dual-carrier 1Tb/s transmission using a transceiver suitable for implementation in commercial systems. Realising these next generation communication systems is crucial if we are to outpace the growing demand for data.

This joint research has been submitted to the Optical Fiber Communication Conference 2017, the largest global conference and exhibition for optical communications and networking professionals.

UNLOC and MERL researchers are currently planning joint endeavours for the near future.