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Optical fibres: the cornerstone of the global communications network
Optical fibres, glass structures with slightly larger diameter than a human hair, are unequivocally one of the mainstays of the global communications network. These fibres transmit light in great quantities over long distances, with a very superior bandwidth and capacity to those of the coaxial copper cables that were previously used.
The truth is that their geometric simplicity conceals their sophistication in managing light. Half a century ago, Charles Kao suggested the viability of optical fibre communications, in work that won a Nobel Prize and, since then, the domination of glass over light has done nothing but increase. The millions of kilometres of fibre installed since then are proof of this.
Optical fibres: the cornerstone of the global communications network
Optical fibres, glass structures with slightly larger diameter than a human hair, are unequivocally one of the mainstays of the global communications network. These fibres transmit light in great quantities over long distances, with a very superior bandwidth and capacity to those of the coaxial copper cables that were previously used.
The truth is that their geometric simplicity conceals their sophistication in managing light. Half a century ago, Charles Kao suggested the viability of optical fibre communications, in work that won a Nobel Prize and, since then, the domination of glass over light has done nothing but increase. The millions of kilometres of fibre installed since then are proof of this.
The revenge of light
En cierto sentido, la época actual representa la revancha de la luz, que impone límites a los actuales sistemas de fibra óptica a la hora de reducir aún más las pérdidas en las comunicaciones, lograr potencias láser más elevadas y generar luz a nuevas longitudes de onda y con eficiencias superiores.
El vidrio representa tanto la causa como la solución a estas limitaciones. Por tanto, mantener la autoridad del vidrio sobre la luz en los próximos 50 años requerirá el mismo ingenio en la ciencia e ingeniería del vidrio que ha permitido la ubiquidad que la fibra óptica ostenta hoy.
Modified chemical vapour deposition equipment for the manufacture of optical fibre at Clemson University
The revenge of light
To some extent, the current age represents the revenge of light which places limits on present optical fibre systems when it comes to reducing losses in communications to an even greater extent, achieving higher laser power and generating light at new band lengths with greater levels of efficiency.
Glass is both the cause and the solution to these limitations. Thus, maintaining glass’s authority over light in the next fifty years will require the same ingenuity in glass science and engineering that has led to the ubiquity that optical fibre enjoys today.
