In the Footsteps of Charles Kao: (50 Anniversary of the Invention of Optical Fiber)
In the Footsteps of Charles Kao: (50 Anniversary of the Invention of Optical Fiber)
The publication by Kao and Hockham in 1965 of what has become accepted as the first serious analysis of the prospects for optical fibre communications had on its first page “Solving the Maxwell equations under the boundary conditions imposed by the physical structure….”, followed by the famous expressions for the optical modes in a cylindrical geometry and the observation that the lowest order HE11 mode in a fibre had no cut-off.
We chart the extraordinary progress of optical fibres over the decades through understanding the guidance conditions set out by Kao and his pioneering work on measuring the loss of silica, the preferred fibre material of today. Particular examples are at the two extremes of fibre performance, the 0.146 dB/km of today’s ULL (ultra-low loss) fibres and the remarkable kWatt power handling ability of large core fibres.
But was Kao right and is the best possible communications medium the silica fibre we know today? We examine the prospects for alternative new air core fibres with very different guidance mechanisms than that analysed by Kao and Hockham and make some predictions for the future.
Payne, David
4f592b24-707f-456e-b2c6-8a6f750e296d
9 May 2016
Payne, David
4f592b24-707f-456e-b2c6-8a6f750e296d
Payne, David
(2016)
In the Footsteps of Charles Kao: (50 Anniversary of the Invention of Optical Fiber).
5th International Conference of Optical Fiber Sensors Technology and Application, , Beijing, China.
07 - 13 May 2016.
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Conference or Workshop Item
(Other)
Abstract
The publication by Kao and Hockham in 1965 of what has become accepted as the first serious analysis of the prospects for optical fibre communications had on its first page “Solving the Maxwell equations under the boundary conditions imposed by the physical structure….”, followed by the famous expressions for the optical modes in a cylindrical geometry and the observation that the lowest order HE11 mode in a fibre had no cut-off.
We chart the extraordinary progress of optical fibres over the decades through understanding the guidance conditions set out by Kao and his pioneering work on measuring the loss of silica, the preferred fibre material of today. Particular examples are at the two extremes of fibre performance, the 0.146 dB/km of today’s ULL (ultra-low loss) fibres and the remarkable kWatt power handling ability of large core fibres.
But was Kao right and is the best possible communications medium the silica fibre we know today? We examine the prospects for alternative new air core fibres with very different guidance mechanisms than that analysed by Kao and Hockham and make some predictions for the future.
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Published date: 9 May 2016
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Invited
Venue - Dates:
5th International Conference of Optical Fiber Sensors Technology and Application, , Beijing, China, 2016-05-07 - 2016-05-13
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Local EPrints ID: 415376
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/415376
PURE UUID: ed1858a8-93aa-4e16-a370-54c99ab5a0e6
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Date deposited: 08 Nov 2017 17:30
Last modified: 11 Dec 2021 21:43
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