Wireless internet that relies on infrared rays could soon allow you to access internet 100 times faster than the current wi-fi network.
The new wi-fi system developed by researchers at the Eindhoven University of Technology in The Netherlands has the capacity to support more devices without getting congested.
It works on infrared light that beams to each device from a few central 'light antennas' at more than 40 Gigabits per second (Gbit/s). There is no need to share since every device gets its own ray and the network has a huge capacity to decongest the wi-fi network.
The installation is also simple as well as less expensive. A few central 'light antennas will be mounted on the ceiling, which are able to very precisely direct the rays of light supplied by an optical fibre.
The antennas contain a pair of gratings that radiate light rays of different wavelengths at different angles ('passive diffraction gratings').
Changing the light wavelengths also changes the direction of the ray of light. Since a safe infrared wavelength is used that does not reach the vulnerable retina in your eye, this technique is harmless.
If you walk around as a user and your smartphone or tablet moves out of the light antenna's line of sight, then another light antenna takes over, researchers said.
The network tracks the precise location of every wireless device using its radio signal transmitted in the return direction, said the researchers.
It is also a simple task to add as many devices as we wish since they are assigned different wavelengths by the same light antenna and so do not have to share capacity. There will not beany interference from a neighbouring wi-fi network.
Current wi-fi uses radio signals at a frequency of 2.5 or five gigahertz whereas the new system uses infrared light with wavelengths of 1,500 nanometres and higher.
This light has frequencies that are thousands of times higher, some 200 terahertz, which makes the data capacity of the light rays much larger.
Researchers managed to achieve a speed of 42.8 Gbit/s over a distance of 2.5 metres. Even if you have the very best wi-fi system available, you would not get more than 300 Megabit/s in total, which is some hundred times less than the speed per ray of light achieved by the new system.
(With input from PTI)
