A pair of studies from Penn Engineering provides new ways to increase information density in optical communications, paving the way for a massive increase in the bandwidth of fiber optic networks.
A pair of studies published in Science, led by Liang Feng (right) and Ritesh Agarwal, describe novel ways of increasing information density in optical communication networks. These findings can be used to help solve the incoming “information crunch” by providing new ways of storing data in light waves, paving the way for a massive increase in the bandwidth of fiber optic networks. (Pre-pandemic photo)
With the enormous amount of data being generated around the world on a daily basis, traditional approaches for sending and receiving data becoming difficult to keep up. Because light is faster than electricity, scientists and engineers are now using photons of light instead of electricity to transmit data, and the demand for data centers that rely on fiber optic communication systems is rapidly increasing.
The challenge facing researchers is how to increase the amount of information that can be stored in light. It’s possible to layer data into different physical aspects of a light wave, such as its amplitude, wavelength, or polarization, but even these “multiplexing” strategies are reaching a bottleneck.
Now, engineers are exploring some of light’s more difficult-to-control properties to increase the amount of data that can be stores in light waves. A matched pair of studies published in Science demonstrated one such system that can manipulate and detect a property of light known as its orbital angular momentum, or OAM, where light waves travel in a rotational, corkscrew pattern and allow information to be encoded within the direction and spacing of the wave’s rotation. A collaborative effort between researchers at Penn, Duke University, Northeastern University, the Polytechnic University of Milan, Hunan University, and the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, this research is the first to be done on small semiconductor chips with enough precision that the system can be used for transmitting data.
Asymmetry in optical “pumping” from the control arms on either side of the microring laser allow for resulting light’s OAM to be “tuned” to different modes. (Image: Penn Engineering)
Together, this new tunable vortex micro-transceiver and receiver represents the two most critical components of a system that could help increase the information density of optical communication networks. “Our findings mark a large step towards launching large-capacity optical communication networks and confronting the upcoming information crunch,” says Feng.
The Polyhedral Structures Laboratory is housed at the Pennovation Center and brings together designers, engineers, and computer scientists to reimagine the built world. Using graphic statics, a method where forces are mapped as lines, they design forms that balance compression and tension. These result in structures that use far fewer materials while remaining strong and efficient.
From ancient tombs and tiny robots to personalized gene editing and AI weather models, Penn’s 2025 research portfolio showed how curiosity—paired with collaboration—moves knowledge into impact and stretches across disciplines and continents.
Centering joy in AI development and implementation
PIK Professor Desmond Upton Patton—of Annenberg and SP2—and collaborators introduce a joy-informed framework designed to initiate conversations among engineers, designers, and researchers.
Reflecting on Jane Austen, 250 years after her birth
English professors Michael Gamer and Barri Joyce Gold have been teaching courses specifically dedicated to Jane Austen for years. They spoke with Penn Today about their approach to teaching her novels, how they challenge common readings and myths, and what makes Austen’s work so enduring—and adaptable to the screen—more than two centuries later.
Electronic medical records help save lives of HIV patients
Wharton’s Leandro “Leo” Pongeluppe and colleagues found that HIV clinics in Malawi that switched from paper to electronic medical records saw an estimated 28% reduction in deaths in five years.
