We find new ways to use and apply optical technologies in telecommunications.
We research and develop novel techniques to process and transmit optical signals. We are also interested in advancing new applications of novel fibre and waveguide technologies.
Optical fibre communication systems have revolutionised computer communications and the development of the internet. We are finding new ways to support their sustained growth into the future.
Our optical fibre telecommunications research has provided several critical contributions to the field. At Southampton, we discovered the erbium doped fibre amplifier in the 1980s, which eliminates fibre loss as an obstacle to signal transmission. Today, we introduce new technologies that unleash the potential of optics and photonics and create an internet infrastructure that is fit for the future.
The group’s research has been funded both by the European Union, through its Framework Programmes, and the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
We work in a suite of 3 laboratories, including a modern optical communications system laboratory. This has the equipment for optical transmission and data processing experiments, using advanced signals and high channel counts.
Our lab is part of the EPSRC National Dark Fibre Facility (NDFF), an installed optical network set up for research purposes. This links four university sites, including UCL, Bristol, Cambridge, and Southampton. It also has an onward connection to European and worldwide research networks via telecommunications facilities in London.
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