Dr Aleksandr Donodin - Aston University

Research Fellowships 2025

The International Energy Agency estimates that data centres and optical networks currently contribute 2 to 3% of global power consumption. With the growing reliance on digital technologies and data-intensive applications like artificial intelligence and cloud computing, this number is expected to rise alongside the exponentially growing demand for faster optical connections. This project aims to address the urgent need for more energy-efficient, high-capacity data connections by focusing on two cutting-edge technologies: optical frequency combs (OFCs) and bismuth-doped fibre amplifiers (BDFAs) for coherent O-band transmission. The O-band, spanning around 1310 nanometres of the visual spectrum, provides advantages for short-to-intermediate reach communication, including lower chromatic dispersion and maximising return on investment of existing fibre infrastructure. By transmitting signals near the zero-dispersion point, the need for chromatic dispersion compensation, which can account for up to 40% of digital signal processing (DSP) power consumption, is greatly reduced. 

BDFAs offer four times the bandwidth of traditional C-band systems. However, BDFAs lack maturity due to the absence of reliable modelling and optimisation tools. This project aims to create those tools, laying the groundwork for energy-efficient BDFAs that consume 2 to 4 times less power than standard C-band amplifiers. Meanwhile, OFCs enable the transmission of ultra-dense data channels, and when combined with BDFAs, they can achieve data rates exceeding 200 Tb/s equivalent to about 2.8 million times the speed of an average UK broadband connection. Until now, BDFAs and OFCs have only been investigated separately. This Fellowship will be the first to combine them, alongside optimised BDFA design and DSP algorithms, to create more energy-efficient and higher-capacity connections for data centres and regional networks. This project not only pushes the boundaries of optical communication technology but also aligns with global sustainability goals by reducing the energy footprint of our digital infrastructure. 

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