Holey fiber overcomes limitations of conventional fiber for applications in lasers and amplifiersKim P. Hansen and Jes Broeng, Crystal Fibre A/SThe use of optical fiber has expanded dramatically in recent years. Arising from a technology strongly focused on telecommunications, fiber now may be found in such diverse fields as biotechnology, astronomy and medicine. One of the fastest growing and most promising applications of optical...Read full articleRelated content from Photonics MediaARTICLESGetting More Out of Telecom FiberThe rising amount of data generated by people and machines around the world travels largely by fiber, with some of it moving thousands of miles in a hop. For some long jumps, new ultralow-loss, large...Photonics Spectra March 2018 IssueRF Reference Transmitted Over Fiber Optics Could Reduce Reliance on Atomic ClocksResearchers from a consortium of Australian institutions have demonstrated that a stable radio-frequency (RF) reference can be reliably transmitted more than 300 km over a standard fiber optic...Photonics.com 2/2/2018Europe Drives Fiber Sensor Development for Industrial AppsOptical fibers have been mostly employed in the telecommunications field to transmit information from one place to another using light. The first inventions involving optical fibers took place in the...EuroPhotonics Summer 2018 IssueFiber Optics Crucial to Future Datacom TransmissionFiber optics technology plays a critical role within the telecommunications sector, thanks to the wide-scale and growing adoption of the technology in communication and data transmission services....EuroPhotonics Winter 2018 IssuePRODUCTSCure with OmniCure® LED UV SystemsExcelitas Technologies® is a global technology leader focused on delivering innovative, high-performance, market-driven photonic solutions to meet the lighting, detection, and optical technology...Promoted Content November 2019 IssueOptical FiberTrueLase Yb16/250 active and passive large-mode area optical fibers from OFS Fitel LLC feature a low-index coating for added temperature performance. The double clad fibers are used in the...Photonics.com 10/31/2019Filters for TelecommunicationsTelecom filters are important components in today’s fiber optical communication networks. Iridian’s telecom filters are used throughout the world in optical networks for wavelength...Photonics Buyers' Guide January 2018 IssueOptic Design SoftwareOpticStudio 19.8 software from Zemax Inc. includes high-yield optimization, a capability that enables engineers to select best as-built performance for higher manufacturing yields at a reduced cost....Photonics.com 11/18/2019PHOTONICS HANDBOOK ARTICLESFiber Optics: Understanding the Basics: Nothing has changed the world of communications as much as the development and implementation of optical fiber. This article provides the basic principles needed to work with this technology.Optical fibers are made from either glass or plastic. Most are roughly the diameter of a human hair, and they may be many miles long. Light is transmitted along the center of the fiber from one end...Photonics HandbookPolarization Mode Dispersion: Concepts and Measurement: The performance of high-speed, digital fiber optic communications systems depends upon how reliably the receiver is able to distinguish closely spaced bits of information. Dispersive effects — physical mechanisms that broaden transmitted pulses — degrade this process.There are three fundamentally different dispersive phenomena in optical fiber, of which polarization mode dispersion (PMD) is the most complex. In digital multimode fiber systems, a light pulse...Photonics HandbookDetectors: CCDs for Life-Science Applications: The CCD camera is becoming the imaging method of choice in biological laboratories for its resolution, versatility and ease of use. Choosing the best CCD for a given application, however, requires knowing how basic chip parameters affect performance.Since their invention in the late 1960s, charge-coupled devices, also called CCDs, have found widespread use in imaging applications. Electronic cameras based on CCD technology are used in...Photonics HandbookAdaptive Optics: Taming Atmospheric Turbulence: For more than three centuries, the Earth’s atmosphere has frustrated astronomers. The layer of gases that we breathe also distorts the images formed by telescopes. This means that conventional telescopes of more than a few centimeters in diameter cannot reach the resolution limit set by their optics.To Isaac Newton the problem was clear, and in 1704 he realized the effects of atmospheric turbulence on image formation. Just as heat waves shimmering above a hot patch of ground can distort our...Photonics HandbookWHITEPAPERSSolutions for Fiber Optic ApplicationsHigh temperature polymer coating and sheathing products protect and support the latest fiber optic technology.Photonics.com 9/10/2019Effects of Sterilization Methods on Key Properties of Specialty Optical Fibers Used in Medical DevicesOptical fibers with different types of polymer coatings were exposed to three sterilization conditions: multiple autoclaving, treatment with ethylene oxide and treatment with gamma rays. Effects of...Photonics.com 2/25/2019New Approach for High Reliability, Low Loss Splicing between Silica and ZBLAN FibersIn the past decade, ZBLAN (ZrF4-BaF2-LaF3-NaF) fibers have drawn increasing interest for laser operations at wavelengths where Fused Silica-based (SiO2) fibers do not perform well. One limitation to...Photonics.com 7/5/2018Accelerating Photonic Simulations with the Effective Index Method in RSoft ToolsThe Effective Index Method (EIM) can be used in Synopsys RSoft™ photonic design software to greatly reduce the computation time and memory requirements of a simulation by converting a 3D structure...Photonics.com 3/1/2018WEBINARSIn Vivo Medical Laser Procedures: An OverviewThis webinar, presented by OFS, will provide an overview of current in vivo medical procedures performed using lasers and optical fibers. The presentation will begin with a brief history of...Photonics.com 3/7/2019Protective Coatings Extend Optics LifetimesPlease download the above “associated file” for a pdf copy of this webinar. From military airborne applications to harsh industrial uses, optics can be subjected to considerable...Photonics.com 10/10/2018Fused Silica Selection: Solutions for Price vs. PerformanceFused silica is a key material in a multitude of optical applications, including high-power laser systems, spectroscopic instrumentation, astronomy and telecommunications. In this webinar, presented...Photonics.com 4/4/2018Fiberguide RARe Motheye Fiber: Random Anti-Reflective (RARe) Nanostructures on Optical Fibers as Replacement for AR CoatingsAnti-reflective (AR) coatings are now entering their second century and have remained virtually unchanged throughout their life. As power level and wavelength range requirements continue to increase,...Photonics.com 1/18/2018PHOTONICS DICTIONARY TERMSdispersion-shifted fiber (DSF)A type of single-mode optical fiber used in high-bit-rate, long-distance telecommunications systems. 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In fiber optics, optical fibers are...EDU.photonics.com 1/14/2013MEDIAWhale Spotting with IR - LIGHT MATTERS 08.28.2013-Whale Spotting -Light Under Pressure -Enabled by Optics On today’s show: an IR camera detects whales in the wild, mechanical pressure is converted to light signals, and we meet the first winner of...Photonics.com 8/28/2013Optical FiberVideo definition of optical fiber presented by Dr. Will Williams, Smith College.Photonics.com 10/24/2014Photonics on the Showroom Floor and in the Lab - LIGHT MATTERS 02.2018On this month's episode of Light Matters, we take you on a brief tour of the Higgins Laboratories at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Quinsigamond Community College and WPI received a $4M grant...Photonics.com 2/21/2018SCHOTT Solutions for InVitro DiagnosticsLight is not always simply light when it comes to clinical diagnoses, light is the key to prediction accuracy in analytical quality. Our solution: a flexible fiber optic multi-branch device with...Photonics.com 3/14/2018PHOTONICS BUYERS' GUIDE CATEGORIESOptical Talk SetsOptical Consulting ServicesMEMS Fiber Optic SwitchesFiber Bragg GratingsA fiber bragg grating is a section of an optical fiber where the refractive index has been altered at periodic intervals so that certain wavelengths are transmitted and others are reflected.COMPANIESLaCroix Precision OpticsOptics that Defend, Build, Cure and Discover The LaCroix name is synonymous with quality precision optics. Since 1947, three generations of family leadership have placed LaCroix Precision Optics...Photonics Buyers' Guideart photonics GmbHart photonics GmbH is the world's leading manufacturer of unique fiber optics for mid IR-range, pioneering the patented technology of Polycrystalline PIR-fibers and assembling a variety of specialty...Photonics Buyers' GuideArden Photonics Ltd.ARDEN PHOTONICS designs and manufactures a wide range of high quality components and instrumentation for the measurement of a wide range of properties of optical fibers and lasers ideally suited to...Photonics Buyers' GuideNYFORS Teknologi ABNYFORS TEKNOLOGI AB manufactures a broad range of fiber processing and glass shaping equipment for specialty or high yield applications. All NYFORS products are designed with the user in mind and are...Photonics Buyers' Guide