Fiber Optic Internal Body Imaging Goes 3D
Leave a CommentResearchers at the ARC Centre for Excellence in Nanoscale BioPhotonics (CNBP) discovered an exciting new method that could make it possible to use 3D microscopy to view hard-to-reach areas of the human body. This method uses fiber optic bundles to miniaturize a type of 3D imaging called “light field imaging.” Taken to extreme new levels, […]
Tags: endoscope, fiber optics, medical imaging
Optical Fiber: When the Heat and Pressure Are On
Leave a CommentMany land and oceanic oil operations use temperature sensing to help improve safety and functionality in harsh environments. Optical fibers used in these conditions are routinely exposed to high temperatures and pressures, along with ionizing radiation and aggressive chemicals in the surroundings. Given these extremes, companies are increasingly using silica-based optical fibers for both […]
Tags: fiber research, oil production, optical fiber, temperature sensing
Breaking the Transatlantic Record
Leave a CommentMaking an overseas phone call? Using cloud computing? If so, there’s a 99 percent chance your call or message is being carried by an undersea fiber optic cable. Now, new research with lasers may let service providers “push” even more data through these cables to help meet the booming demand for transmission between North […]
Tags: fiber optic cables, MAREA, submarine cable, subsea cable
New Ways to Twist and Shift Light
2 CommentsThe National Physical Laboratory (NPL) recently conducted photonics research that may lead to new quantum technologies and telecom systems. The researchers discovered unexpected qualities in light that could, in the long term, lead to completely new electronic devices and applications. Light is frequently used in electronics involved in telecommunications and computing. One good example […]
Tags: fiber optic cables, light, optical fiber, photonics
Lighting Up Dark Fiber
Leave a CommentLast month, internet speeds in Jackson, Mississippi, jumped from 1 Gb to 100 Gb. This leap forward is part of the city’s work to light up “dark fiber” in the robust fiber optic network that it owns. The Origin of Dark Fiber The term “dark fiber” refers to unused or underused fiber optic infrastructure (optical fibers, […]
Fiber to the Home Growth Keeps Exploding
Leave a CommentThe growth in Fiber to the Home (FTTH) just keeps exploding. In fact, for the first time ever, optical fiber passed DSL in home usage during 2018. Fiber is now the second most-frequent connection for North American home Internet. And FTTH is also the second most-often-used, fixed broadband connection medium in North America. A newly-issued […]
Tags: FTTH, Smart Home
The “Wet Net” World of Underwater Fiber Optic Cables
Leave a CommentYou panic when even a few drops of water fall on your laptop. Everyone knows that water and electronics don’t “mix.” That’s why it seems so ironic that most of the Internet’s “hard” infrastructure lies underwater on the ocean floor. Virtually all global data travels through millions of miles of submarine fiber optic cables beneath […]
Tags: fiber, fiber optic cable, submarine cables