Washington: As people look for faster internet experience globally, a team of Canadian researchers have designed a tunable filter that can provide the low-cost flexibility needed for the next generation of high-speed optical networks. The device's performance is comparable to the best available systems but at a fraction of the size and cost.

The filter's tuning span, which is a measure of how well the device can adjust to fluctuating data demands, is the widest ever demonstrated on a silicon chip. Additionally, the device has an unlimited free-spectral range, meaning it can operate over any range of frequencies.