LASER

Laser is a device that emits light through a process called stimulated emission. This
device stimulates atoms or molecules to emit light at particular wavelengths and
amplifies that light, typically producing a very narrow beam of radiation. The emitted
light generally covers an extremely limited range of visible, infrared, or ultraviolet
wavelengths. Many different types of lasers have been developed, with highly varied
characteristics. “Laser” is an acronym for “light amplification by the stimulated emission
of radiation.”

HISTORY

Albert Einstein, first, in 1916 suggested that under certain circumstances atoms could
release energy as light either spontaneously or when stimulated by light. His thoughts laid
the foundation for the invention of laser and its predecessor, the maser,in a ground-
breaking rederivation of Maxwell's law of radiation based on the concepts of probability
coefficients for the absorption, spontaneous emission, and stimulated emission of
electromagnetic radiation.

In 1951 Charles L. Townes then at Columbia University in New York City, thought of a
way to generate stimulated emission at microwave frequencies. At the end of 1953, he
demonstrated a working device that focused “excited” ammonia molecules in a resonant
microwave cavity, where they emitted a pure microwave frequency. Townes named the
device a maser, for “microwave amplification by the stimulated emission of
radiation.”Aleksandr Mikhaylovinh Prokhorov and Nikolay Gennadiyevich Basov of the
P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute in Moscow independently described the theory of maser
operation. For their work all three shared the 1964 Noble Prize for Physics. An intense
burst of maser research followed in the mid-1950s, but masers found only a limited range
of applications as low-noise microwave amplifiers and atomic clocks.

In 1957, Charles Hard Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow, then at Bell Labs, began a
serious study of the infrared laser. As ideas were developed, infrared frequencies were
abandoned with focus on visible light instead. The concept was originally known as an
"optical maser”. Gordon Gould made notes about his ideas for a "laser" in November
1957, including suggesting using an open resonater, which became an important
ingredient of future lasers. The term "laser" was first introduced to the public in Gould's
1959 conference paper "The LASER, Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of
Radiation".

The first working laser was made by Theodore H. Maiman in 1960 beating several
research teams including those of Townes, Arthur Schawlow and Gould. Maiman used a
solid-state flashlamp-pumped synthetic ruby crystal to produce red laser light at 694
nanometers wavelength. Maiman's laser, however, was only capable of pulsed operation
due to its three-level pumping scheme. Later in 1960 the Iranian physicist Ali Javan,
working with William R. Bennett and Donald Herriot, made the first gas laser using

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helium and neon. Javan later received the Albert Einstein Award in 1993. The concept of
the semiconductor laser diode was proposed by Basov and Javan. The first laser diode
was demonstrated by Robert N. Hall in 1962. In 1970, Zhores Alferov in the Soviet
Union and Izuo Hayashi and Morton Panish of Bell Telephone Laboratories
independently developed laser diodes continuously operating at room temperature, using
the heterojunction structure.

Helium-neon lasers were the first lasers with broad commercial applications. Because
they could be adjusted to generate a visible red beam instead of an infrared beam, they
found immediate use projecting straight lines for alignment, surveying, construction, and
irrigation. Soon eye surgeons were using pulses from ruby lasers to weld detached retinas
back in place without cutting into the eye. The first large-scale application for lasers was
the laser scanner for automated checkout in supermarkets, which was developed in the
mid-1970s and became common a few years later. Compact disc audio players and laser
printers for personal computers soon followed.

PRODUCTION OF LASER
There are following terms used to describe the production of laser light:
1. Stimulated Absorption
The phenomenon of absorption of energy in the form of photons by the atoms
which are available in the lower energy state so that they are forced to go from
lower energy state to higher energy state is called stimulated absorption. The rate
of stimulated absorption is directly proportional to the number of atoms available
in the lower energy level and energy density of the incident photons.

2. Spontaneous emission
The excited atoms cannot stay in the higher energy state for long time as they are
unstable. So they quickly come back to the lower energy state to gain stability.
The process of spontaneous emission of photons from the atoms when they go to
lower energy state automatically is called spontaneous emission. It is also noted
that the photons present in the spontaneous emission are in different phase
because different photons are emitted at different instant of time.
3. Metastable state
Normally excited atoms cannot stay in higher energy state for a long time. So they
return back to the lower energy state quickly. The average time during which
excited atoms stay in particular higher energy state is called mean life time of that
state. It depends upon the nature of atoms and the order of that energy state. But
however in some special type of molecules or atoms there may be a higher energy
state at which atoms can stay for a longer time comparatively. Such energy state
of the atom is called metastable state.
4. Population inversion
In normal case the number of atoms present in higher energy state is less than the
number pf atoms present in lower energy state in given sample of atoms. But in
exceptional case the number of atoms in higher energy state (metastable) is

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 greater. This is population inversion and the process due to which population
takes place is called optical pumping.
5. Stimulated emission
When a photon is incident in an assembly of atoms where more atoms are in
higher energy state (meatastable state). They are forced to go to the lower energy
state with the emission of photons. Here the incident photon interact with one of
the atom present in higher energy state so that it goes to lower energy state with
ate emission of a photon as that of incident photon. But the incident photon is not
used. Then the two photons are available for the interaction with other two atoms,
and so on. In this way an avalanche of photons are emitted from the atoms present
in higher energy state due to the incident photon. It is also noted that all the
photons present in stimulated emission are in same phase
.

Basic Principle of generation of laser light

For the production of laser certain amount of appropriate working substance is

taken so that it consists of a number of atoms. Each atom has three different energy states
i.e. lower energy state (E1), higher energy state (E2) and metastable state (E3) such that
the metastable state lies between the lower and higher energy state. A sufficient amount
of photons each carrying energy equal to the difference in the energy of lower and higher
energy states is incident in the sample of given substance so that majority of atoms are
excited to higher energy state E3, which is called optical pumping. But the excited atoms
cannot stay in higher energy state so they undergo a non-radiative transition with the
emission of energy in then form of lattice thermal vibration and go to the metastable
state.
As the time increases the number of atoms in metastable state increases and after
a while majority of atoms reach to the metastable state. Thus the population inversion
takes place. In this condition if a single photon from an external source which carries
energy equal to the energy difference between the lower energy state and metastable state
stimulated emission takes place. Thus a very intense beam of photon which are
monochromatic, coherent and prefect parallel to each other is emitted. All the photons
move in the same direction in the same phase. Such beam of light is called laser.

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PROPERTIES OF A LASER LIGHT
Laser light has the following properties:
• All the radiations (photons) present in the laser light are of same wavelength i.e.
they are monochromatic.
• All the radiations (photons) present in the laser light are in same phase i.e. they
are coherent.
• All the radiations (photons) present in the laser light are perfectly parallel to each
other.

TYPES OF LASER LIGHT

There are various types of laser light which are classified according to the nature of the
substance taken to produce the laser light. Some of them are described below:
• Gas laser
Gas laser uses gaseous substance for the generation of laser light. Gas lasers using
many gases have been built and used for many purposes. The helium-neon laser
(HeNe), Carbon dioxide laser, Argon-ion lasers, etc are the examples of the gas
laser.
• Solid-state laser
Solid-state lasers materials are commonly made by "doping" a crystalline solid
host "doped" with ions that provide the required energy states. For example, the
first working laser was a ruby laser, made from ruby (chromium-doped
corundum). The population inversion is actually maintained in the "dopant", such
as chromium or neodymium.
• Semiconductor laser
Semiconductor lasers are actually solid-state lasers, too, but because
semiconductor lasers have a different mode of laser operation, they have a
different name. Vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), silicon laser,
etc are the examples of semiconductor lasers.
• Chemical laser
Chemical lasers are powered by a chemical reaction. They can achieve high
powers in continuous operation. For example, in the Hydrogen fluoride laser
(2700-2900 nm) and the Deuterium fluoride laser (3800 nm) the reaction is the
combination of hydrogen or deuterium gas with combustion products of ethylene
in nitrogen trifluoride. They were invented by George C. Pimentel.
• Fiber-hosted laser
Solid-state lasers where the light is guided due to the total internal reflection in an
optical fiber are called fiber lasers. Guiding of light allows extremely long gain
regions providing good cooling conditions; fibers have high surface area to
volume ratio which allows efficient cooling. In addition, the fiber's wave guiding
properties tend to reduce thermal distortion of the beam. Erbium and ytterbium
ions are common active species in such lasers.
• Dye laser
Dye lasers use an organic dye as the gain medium. Due to wide gain spectrum of
available dyes these lasers are highly tunable, or to produce very short-duration
pulses (on the order of a few femtoseconds)

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 • Free electron laser
Unlike gas, liquid, or solid-state lasers, which rely on bound atomic or molecular
states, FELs use a relativistic electron beam as the lasing medium, hence the term
free electron. Free electron lasers, or FELs, generate coherent, high power
radiation, which is widely tunable, currently ranging in wavelength from
microwaves to the visible spectrum, and to soft X-rays. They have the widest
frequency range of any laser type. While FEL beams share the same optical traits
as other lasers, such as coherent radiation, FEL operation is quite different.

USES

• The first application of lasers visible in the daily lives of the general population
was the supermarket barcode scanner, introduced in 1974.
• The laserdisc player, introduced in 1978, was the first successful consumer
product to include a laser, but the compact disc player was the first laser-equipped
device to become truly common in consumers' homes, beginning in 1982,
followed shortly by laser printers.
• Laser lights are used in drilling hard metals and diamonds.
• Carbon dioxide lasers can emit hundreds of kilowatts at 9.6 µm and 10.6 µm, and
are often used in industry for cutting and welding.
• Helium-silver and neon-copper lasers are two examples that have particularly
narrow oscillation linewidths of less than 3 GHz, making them candidates for use
in fluorescence suppressed Raman spectroscopy.
• Laser used in medical science for the treatment of different diseases such as
kidney stone treatment, eye treatment, etc. Laser is also used in surgery, laser
healing, and dentistry.
• Laser is used in automatic control of many types of machines, rockets and
satellite.
• Laser is used in television and radar.
• Laser is used in warfare for detecting and destroying fighter planes, tanks and
bombs.
• Laser is used in three dimensional photography called holography.
• In the laboratory, lasers have helped physicists to cool atoms to within a tiny
fraction of a degree of absolute zero.

Laser safety

Even the first laser was potentially dangerous. It was characterized to have a power of
one “Gillette”; as it could burn through one Gillette razor blade. Even the laser with low-
power with only few milliwatts of output power can be hazardous to human eyesight.
When fallen directly in eye it can cause localized burning and permanent damages in
seconds or even less time. Certain infrared lasers with wavelengths beyond about 1.4
micrometers are often referred to as being "eye-safe". Continuous expose to laser light

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can cause skin burn. Some strong lasers can even result in death, so laser should be used
safely.

Recent innovations

Since the early period of laser history, laser research has produced a variety of improved
and specialized laser types, optimized for different performance goals, including:

• new wavelength bands

• maximum average output power
• maximum peak output power
• minimum output pulse duration
• maximum power efficiency
• maximum charging
• maximum firing

And this research continues to this day.

Lasing without maintaining the medium excited into a population inversion, was
discovered in 1992 in sodium gas and again in 1995 in rubidium gas by various
international teams. This was accomplished by using an external maser to induce "optical
transparency" in the medium by introducing and destructively interfering the ground
electron transitions between two paths, so that the likelihood for the ground electrons to
absorb any energy has been cancelled.

In 1985 at the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics a breakthrough

in creating ultrashort-pulse, very high-intensity (terawatts) laser pulses became available
using a technique called chirped pulse amplification, or CPA, discovered by Gérard
Mourou. These high intensity pulses can produce filament propagation in the atmosphere.

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 OPTICAL FIBER

An optical fiber (or fibre) is a long hollow glass or plastic fiber that carries light along its
length. When a ray of light enters into the fiber from one end it undergoes successive
total internal reflection from the walls and comes out of the fiber from other end. Fiber
optics is the overlap of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and
application of optical fibers. Optical fibers are widely used in fiber-optic
communications, which permits transmission over longer distances and at higher data
rates, than other forms of communications. Fibers are used instead of metal wires because
signals travel along them with less loss, and they are immune to electromagnetic
interference. Optical fibers are also used to form sensors, and in a variety of other
applications.

Light is kept in the "core" of the optical fiber by total internal reflection. This causes the
fiber to act as a waveguide. Joining lengths of optical fiber is more complex than joining
electrical wire or cable. The ends of the fibers must be carefully cleaved, and then spliced
together either mechanically or by fusing them together with an electric arc. Special
connectors are used to make removable connections. Most high speed internet cable
connections are made up of optical fiber cables.

In general the optical fiber consists of three regions namely:

• Core: It is the innermost light guiding region.
• Cladding: It is the region around the core. Its refractive index is less than that of
core.
• Sheath: It is the outermost covering that protects the cladding and core, and gives
the fiber mechanical strength.

Construction

The process of construction of optical fiber involves, first constructing a large-diameter

preform, with a carefully controlled refractive index profile, and then pulling the preform
to form the long, thin optical fiber. The preform is commonly made by three chemical
vapor deposition methods: inside vapor deposition, outside vapor deposition, and vapor
axial deposition.

There are two main types of material used for optical fibres. These are glass and plastic.
They offer widely different characteristics and therefore fibres made from the two
different substances find uses in very different applications. Fibre optic technology relies
on the fact that it is possible to send a light beam along a thin fibre suitably constructed.
A fibre optic cable consists of a glass or silica core. The core of the optical fibre is
surrounded by a similar material, i.e. glass or silica, called the cladding that has a
refractive index that is slightly lower than that of the core. It is found that even when the
cladding has a slightly higher refractive index, the light passing down the core undergoes

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total internal reflection, and it is thereby contained within the core of the optical fibre.
The Outside the cladding there is placed a plastic jacket. This is used to provide
protection to the optical fibre itself. In addition to this, optical fibres are usually grouped
together in bundles and these are protected by an overall outer sheath. This not only
provides further protection but also serves to keep the optical fibres together.

History
The principle of multiple total internal refraction makes fiber optics possible. It was first
demonstrated by Daniel Colladon and Jacques Babinet in Paris in the 1840s, with Irish
inventor John Tyndall offering public displays using water-fountains ten years later.
Practical applications, such as close internal illumination during dentistry, appeared early
in the twentieth century. Image transmission through tubes was demonstrated
independently by the radio experimenter Clarence Hansell and the television pioneer
John Logie Baird in the 1920s. The principle was first used for internal medical
examinations by Heinrich Lamm in the following decade. In 1952, physicist Narinder
Singh Kapany conducted experiments that led to the invention of optical fiber, based on
Tyndall's earlier studies; modern optical fibers, where the glass fiber is coated with a
transparent cladding to offer a more suitable refractive index, appeared later in the
decade. Development then focused on fiber bundles for image transmission. The first
fiber optic semi-flexible gastroscope was patented by Basil Hirschowitz, C. Wilbur
Peters, and Lawrence E. Curtiss, researchers at the University of Michigan, in 1956. In
the process of developing the gastroscope, Curtiss produced the first glass-clad fibers;
previous optical fibers had relied on air or impractical oils and waxes as the low-index
cladding material. A variety of other image transmission applications soon followed.

Attenuations in modern optical cables are far less than those in electrical copper cables,
leading to long-haul fiber connections with repeater distances of 50–80 km. The erbium-
doped fiber amplifier, which reduced the cost of long-distance fiber systems by reducing
or even in many cases eliminating the need for optical-electrical-optical repeaters, was
co-developed by teams led by David N. Payne of the University of Southampton, and
Emmanuel Desurvire at Bell Laboratories in 1986. The more robust optical fiber
commonly used today utilizes glass for both core and sheath and is therefore less prone to
aging processes. It was invented by Gerhard Bernsee in 1973 by Schott Glass in
Germany.

In 1991, the emerging field of photonic crystals led to the development of photonic
crystal fiber, which guides light by means of diffraction from a periodic structure, rather
than total internal reflection. The first photonic crystal fibers became commercially
available in 1996. Photonic crystal fibers can be designed to carry higher power than
conventional fiber, and their wavelength dependent properties can be manipulated to
improve their performance in certain applications.

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Principle of operation
An optical fiber is a cylindrical dielectric waveguide that transmits light along its axis, by
the process of total internal reflection. The fiber consists of a core surrounded by a
cladding layer. To confine the optical signal in the core, the refractive index of the core
must be greater than that of the cladding. The boundary between the core and cladding
may either be abrupt, in step-index fiber, or gradual, in graded-index fiber.

Refractive index

The refractive index is a way of measuring the speed of light in a material. Light travels
fastest in a vacuum. The actual speed of light in a vacuum is 299,792 kilometers per
second. Refractive index is calculated by dividing the speed of light in a vacuum by the
speed of light in some other medium. The index of refraction of a vacuum is therefore 1,
by definition. The typical value for the cladding of an optical fiber is 1.46. The core value
is typically 1.48. The larger the index of refraction, the more slowly light travels in that
medium.

Total internal reflection

When light traveling in a dense medium hits a boundary at a steep angle the light will be
completely reflected. This effect is used in optical fibers to confine light in the core.
Light travels along the fiber bouncing back and forth off of the boundary. Because the
light must strike the boundary with an angle less than the critical angle, only light that
enters the fiber within a certain range of angles can travel down the fiber without leaking
out. This range of angles is called the acceptance cone of the fiber. The size of this
acceptance cone is a function of the refractive index difference between the fiber's core
and cladding. In simpler terms, there is a maximum angle from the fiber axis at which
light may enter the fiber so that it will propagate, or travel, in the core of the fiber. The
sine of this maximum angle is the numerical aperture of the fiber. Fiber with a larger
numerical aperture requires less precision to splice and work with than fiber with a
smaller numerical aperture. Single-mode fiber has a small numerical aperture.

Multimode fiber

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Fiber with large (greater than 10 μm) core diameter may be analyzed by geometric optics.
Such fiber is called multimode fiber, from the electromagnetic analysis (see below). In a
step-index multimode fiber, rays of light are guided along the fiber core by total internal
reflection. Rays that meet the core-cladding boundary at a high angle (measured relative
to a line normal to the boundary), greater than the critical angle for this boundary, are
completely reflected. The critical angle (minimum angle for total internal reflection) is
determined by the difference in index of refraction between the core and cladding
materials. Rays that meet the boundary at a low angle are refracted from the core into the
cladding, and do not convey light and hence information along the fiber. The critical
angle determines the acceptance angle of the fiber, often reported as a numerical aperture.
A high numerical aperture allows light to propagate down the fiber in rays both close to
the axis and at various angles, allowing efficient coupling of light into the fiber.
However, this high numerical aperture increases the amount of dispersion as rays at
different angles have different path lengths and therefore take different times to traverse
the fiber. A low numerical aperture may therefore be desirable.

In graded-index fiber, the index of refraction in the core decreases continuously between
the axis and the cladding. This causes light rays to bend smoothly as they approach the
cladding, rather than reflecting abruptly from the core-cladding boundary. The resulting
curved paths reduce multi-path dispersion because high angle rays pass more through the
lower-index periphery of the core, rather than the high-index center. The index profile is
chosen to minimize the difference in axial propagation speeds of the various rays in the
fiber. This ideal index profile is very close to a parabolic relationship between the index
and the distance from the axis.

Singlemode fiber

This form of optical fibre is virtually exclusively used these days. It is found that if the
diameter of the optical fibre is reduced to a few wavelengths of light, then the light can
only propagate in a straight line and does not bounce from side to side of the fibre. As the
light can only travel in this single mode, this type of cable is called a single mode fibre.
Typically single mode fibre core are around eight to ten microns in diameter, much
smaller than a hair. Single mode fiber does not suffer from multi-modal dispersion and

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this means that it has a much wider bandwidth. The main limitation to the bandwidth is
what is termed chromatic dispersion where different colors, i.e. Wavelengths propagate at
different speeds. Chromatic dispersion of the optical fibre cable occurs within the centre
of the fibre itself. It is found that it is negative for short wavelengths and changes to
become positive at longer wavelengths. As a result there is a wavelength for single mode
fiber where the dispersions is zero. This generally occurs at a wavelength of around 1310
nm and this is the reason why this wavelength is widely used. The disadvantage of single
mode fibre is that it requires high tolerance to be manufactured and this increases its cost.
Against this the fact that it offers superior performance, especially for long runs means
that much development of single mode fiber has been undertaken to reduce the costs.

Special-purpose fiber

Some special-purpose optical fibers are constructed with a non-cylindrical core and/or
cladding layer, usually with an elliptical or rectangular cross-section. These include
polarization-maintaining fiber and fiber designed to suppress whispering gallery mode
propagation. Photonic crystal fiber is made with a regular pattern of index variation. Such
fiber uses diffraction effects instead of or in addition to total internal reflection, to
confine light to the fiber's core. The properties of the fiber can be tailored to a wide
variety of applications.

Applications
Optical fiber communication

Telecommunication and networking is one of the applications of optical fibers. Optical

fiber is flexible and can be bundled as cables. The light propagates through the fiber with
little attenuation compared to electrical cables so it is more advantageous for long
distance communication and networking. This allows long distances to be spanned with
few repeaters. In the optical fiber light can be modulated at rates as high as 40 Gb/s.
connections as fast as 1 Tb/s are being developed and each fiber can carry many
independent channels, each by a different wavelength of light. Not only for large
distance communication and networking but also in short distances, such as networking
within a building, fiber saves space in cable ducts because a single fiber can carry much
data than a single electrical cable. The phenomenon like electrical interference does not
affect the optical fiber. Due to this there is no cross-talk between signals in different
cables and pickup of environment noise. There are concentric dual core fibers that are
said to be tap-proof. In the optical fiber, wiretapping is more difficult compared to
electrical connections. Being non-electrical, optical fibers can be used to carry high
potential differences even in the environments containing explosive fumes without
danger of ignition.

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Fiber optic sensors

Optical fibers can be used in sensors. In some cases optical fiber itself is used as sensor
while in other cases fiber is used to connect a non-fiberoptic sensor to a measurement
system. Because of the small size, no need of electrical power in remote locations, quality
to be multiplexed along the length of a fiber by using different wavelengths of light for
each sensor and sensing the time delay as light passes along the fiber through each
sensor, optical fiber can be used in different application according to need. Optical time-
domain reflectometer is the instrument that measures the time delay. Optical fibers can
also be used to measure strain, temperature, pressure and other quantities by modifying a
fiber so that the quantity to be measured modulates the intensity, phase, polarization, and
wavelength or transit time of light in the fiber. Because a simple source and detector is
required in the sensors that vary the intensity of light, they are the simplest. A particularly
useful feature of such fiber optic sensors is that they can, if required, provide distributed
sensing over distances of up to one meter. Extrinsic fiber optic sensors use an optical
fiber cable, normally a multimode one, to transmit modulated light from either a non-
fiber optical sensor, or an electronic sensor connected to an optical transmitter. A major
benefit of extrinsic sensors is their ability to reach places which are otherwise
inaccessible. An example is the measurement of temperature inside aircraft jet engines by
using a fiber to transmit radiation into a radiation pyrometer located outside the engine.
Extrinsic sensors are used to measure vibration, rotation, displacement, velocity,
acceleration, torque, and twisting.

Other uses of optical fibers

Fibers are widely used in illumination applications. They are used as light guides in
medical and other applications where bright light needs to be shone on a target without a
clear line-of-sight path. In some buildings, optical fibers are used to route sunlight from
the roof to other parts of the building. Optical fiber illumination is also used for
decorative applications, including signs, art, and artificial Christmas trees. Swarovski
boutiques use optical fibers to illuminate their crystal showcases from many different
angles while only employing one light source. Optical fiber is an intrinsic part of the
light-transmitting concrete building product, LiTraCon.

Optical fiber is also used in imaging optics. A coherent bundle of fibers is used,
sometimes along with lenses, for a long, thin imaging device called an endoscope, which
is used to view objects through a small hole. Medical endoscopes are used for minimally
invasive exploratory or surgical procedures (endoscopy). Industrial endoscopes (see
fiberscope or borescope) are used for inspecting anything hard to reach, such as jet
engine interiors.

An optical fiber doped with certain rare-earth elements such as erbium can be used as the
gain medium of a laser or optical amplifier. Rare-earth doped optical fibers can be used to
provide signal amplification by splicing a short section of doped fiber into a regular
(undoped) optical fiber line. The doped fiber is optically pumped with a second laser
wavelength that is coupled into the line in addition to the signal wave. Both wavelengths

12
of light are transmitted through the doped fiber, which transfers energy from the second
pump wavelength to the signal wave. The process that causes the amplification is
stimulated emission. Optical fibers doped with a wavelength shifter are used to collect
scintillation light in physics experiments. Optical fiber can be used to supply a low level
of power to electronics situated in a difficult electrical environment. Examples of this are
electronics in high-powered antenna elements and measurement devices used in high
voltage transmission equipment.

Photonic crystal fibers

A novel huge playground for researchers, and certainly also an area with a substantial
commercial future, is the field of photonic crystal fibers (PCFs), also called
microstructure fibers or holey fibers. Here, many tiny air holes (with sub-micrometer
diameters) go all along the fiber. Such holes are typically made by drawing the fiber from
a structured preform, assembled from a stack of solid or hollow tubes. Guidance is
achieved by exploiting the huge index contrast between glass (and polymers) and air,
rather than the much smaller index differences between doped and undoped glass.

Fig. Design of the core region of the most common type of photonic crystal fiber. There
is a triangular lattice of air holes, with the central hole missing.

Practical issues
Fiber fuse
At high optical intensities, above 2 megawatts per square centimeter, when a fiber
is subjected to a shock or is otherwise suddenly damaged, a fiber fuse can occur.
The reflection from the damage vaporizes the fiber immediately before the break,
and this new defect remains reflective so that the damage propagates back toward
the transmitter at 1–3 meters per second. The open fiber control system, which
ensures laser eye safety in the event of a broken fiber, can also effectively halt
propagation of the fiber fuse. In situations, such as undersea cables, where high
power levels might be used without the need for open fiber control, a "fiber fuse"
protection device at the transmitter can break the circuit to prevent any damage.

Optical fiber cables

In practical fibers, the cladding is usually coated with a tough resin buffer layer,
which may be further surrounded by a jacket layer, usually plastic. These layers
add strength to the fiber but do not contribute to its optical wave guide properties.
Rigid fiber assemblies sometimes put light-absorbing ("dark") glass between the
fibers, to prevent light that leaks out of one fiber from entering another. This

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 reduces cross-talk between the fibers, or reduces flare in fiber bundle imaging
applications. Modern cables come in a wide variety of sheathings and armor,
designed for applications such as direct burial in trenches, dual use as power lines,
and installation in conduit, lashing to aerial telephone poles, submarine
installation, or insertion in paved streets. In recent years the cost of small fiber-
count pole-mounted cables has greatly decreased due to the high Japanese and
South Korean demand for fiber to the home (FTTH) installations.

Fiber cable can be very flexible, but traditional fiber's loss increases greatly if the fiber is
bent with a radius smaller than around 30 mm. This creates a problem when the cable is
bent around corners or wound around a spool, making FTTX installations more
complicated. "Bendable fibers", targeted towards easier installation in home
environments, have been standardized as ITU-T G.657. This type of fiber can be bent
with a radius as low as 7.5 mm without adverse impact. Even more bendable fibers have
been developed. Bendable fiber may also be resistant to fiber hacking, in which the signal
in a fiber is surreptitiously monitored by bending the fiber and detecting the leakage.

Free-space coupling
It often becomes necessary to align an optical fiber with another optical fiber or an
optical device such as a light-emitting diode, a laser diode, or an optoelectronic device
such as a modulator. This can involve either carefully aligning the fiber or placing it in
contact with the device to which it is to couple, or can use a lens to allow coupling over
an air gap. In some cases the end of the fiber is polished into a curved form that is
designed to allow it to act as a lens.
In a laboratory environment, the fiber end is usually aligned to the device or other fiber
with a fiber launch system that uses a microscope objective lens to focus the light down
to a fine point. A precision translation stage (micro-positioning table) is used to move the
lens, fiber, or device to allow the coupling efficiency to be optimized.

Fiber Bragg Gratings

Another technologically very interesting area is that of fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs).
Here, a weak refractive index modulation is typically written into a photosensitive fiber
by exposure of some fiber section to ultraviolet laser light, which is spatially structured in
the form of an interference pattern. The approximately periodic index modulation leads to
reflection in some typically narrow wavelength region, while it has little effect on light at
other wavelengths. Such a narrowband reflector can be used e. g. as the end mirror of a
fiber laser, determining its emission wavelength and narrowing the emission spectrum. A
short fiber laser may even consist only of a single fiber grating in a doped fiber.
Examples for other applications are adding and dropping data channels in wavelength
division multiplexing telecom systems, and fiber-optic sensors exploiting the pressure or
temperature dependence of the reflection feature. Besides coupling counter propagating
core modes, fiber gratings can also couple light from the core into cladding modes. Long-
period gratings based on the latter principle can be used for gain flattening of fiber
amplifiers by introducing carefully controlled wavelength-dependent losses. The
photosensitivity of a fiber depends very much on the core material. This somewhat
restricts the range of fibers in which gratings can be made with UV irradiation. However,

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an alternative method is the inscription of gratings with a femtosecond laser, exploiting
two-photon absorption.

Conclusion
Although optical fibers have been used for many decades, the last 10 to 20 years have
shown a lot of further development. The introduction of fiber Bragg gratings, photonic
crystal fibers and new plastic optical fibers, to name only the most important new fields,
has dramatically widened the range of possible applications. It is to be expected that fiber
optics stays a very exciting area for many further years.

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