Internet traffic in cities is no longer a simple pipeline from data centres to homes—it now swirls locally as streaming, video calls, and cloud services concentrate demand in metro networks. This manufacturing fellowship tackles the hardware bottleneck in those networks: the optical transceivers and amplifiers that move data between neighbourhoods and city hubs. Current metro equipment struggles with the sheer volume and localisation of modern traffic. The project develops compact, power-efficient “super-channel” transceivers operating at 28–32 gigabaud and above, paired with wide-band Raman optical amplifiers that cover 120 nanometres of spectrum. It also redesigns manufacturing processes—using digital coherent technology and robotic assembly—to cut costs, reduce manual errors, and improve yield for these arrayed devices. If successful, the work could make metro networks faster, cheaper, and more energy-efficient without requiring new fibre. That means fewer dropped connections during peak hours and lower operational costs for the companies that run city-scale internet infrastructure. The team will test their designs in numerical models of networks serving Greater London and validate them in laboratory fibre loops, ensuring the hardware works under real-world traffic loads.
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The aim of this manufacturing fellowship is to address the technology, architecture, performance and manufacturing needs of next generation optical communications systems for metro networks. Optical metro networks are undergoing tremendous growth as an unprecedented change in the distribution of network traffic, driven by requirements to ensure a superior quality of service to the end-user, leads to the concentration and localisation of traffic. The programme targets two specific network functions: compact, scalable and power-efficient multi-carrier "super-channel" transceivers at baud rates of 28-32Gbaud and above, and scalable, wide-band (120nm), segmented discrete Raman optical fibre amplifiers. Innovative product processes enabled by digital coherent technology and DSP-based monitoring of key transceiver parameters will be explored to address manufacturing yield and extended test times for arrayed transceivers. Novel designs will be developed to minimise bend losses, manual interventions, and to take advantage of robotic assembly, thereby introducing the required consistency in critical assembly processes for segmented amplifier manufacture. New equipment architectures and software-enabled re-purposing will be explored, focussed on energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness, longevity, and manufacturability. System performance will be evaluated in detailed numerical models of target networks serving great metropolises like Greater London, and compared with extensive laboratory tests in recirculating loop and extended optical fibre test beds.
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