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Pittsburgh (PA) - Penn State University professor of electrical engineering, Mohsen Kavehrad, has been researching the possibility of transmitting extremely high speed data over copper.  He’s looking at 100 Gigabits per second on Category-7 wire at distances in excess of 100 meters.  Imagine a home or office network using inexpensive copper, one that could transmit over twelve complete Encyclopedia Britannicas per second.

While 70 meters is possible today, it’s that last 30 meters which is just outside the reach of theoretical modern technology.  Future modems, which are not the boxes we think of, but are the equivalent of on-board chips modulating and demodulating the high speed signals, will be required before practical applications can be built which push copper so far.

Today, the theoretical limitations are with the 65nm process technology.  The internal semiconductor-based hardware mechanisms which drive signals over Cat-7 wire, which is basically a four twisted-pair heavy gauge wire with extra insulation, cannot work beyond 70 meters.  The limitations imposed by degradation, noise, data races per bit line, bounce, cross-over, and other factors, all conspire against the existing technology.  These result in limitations in just how fast an amplified data signal can be switched off and on with minimal digital waveform loss.

The research team is currently identifying the requirements to create an entirely new class of modems.  They’re looking at what designs will be required to communicate beyond the 70 meter barrier.  They’re actually hoping to exceed 100 meters with their design.  While the researchers conclude that this technology is not even theoretically possible today with 65nm technology, even under idea circumstances, it is believed that at the 32nm node, or possibly the 22nm node, it will be possible.  Those modem chips would be able to handle the signal switching with less bounce, less noise and ultimately without data loss.  This technology could be available as early as 2013.

Source: tgdaily.com