The rise and rise of optical fibers

Abstract

During the second half of the 20th Century there were several technological revolutions, one of the most important being the supplanting of telecommunication over copper wires, and of much satellite communication, by optical transmission over glass fibers. This has transformed, and continues to transform, our handling of information. It has, along with software and microelectronics, created the information society.Index Terms-Erbium fiber amplifier, fiber materials and fabrication, history of optical communications, integrated fiber circuits, optical fibers.

Addressing Fiber-to-Chip Coupling Issues in Silicon Photonics

“…The samples were fabricated in CEA-Leti 1 (Grenoble-France), within the framework of the FP6-IST-NMP PHOLOGIC project 2 . As fabrication production line in LETI is with commercial wafers with 220 nm/2 μm Si/SiO 2 thicknesses values, designs were redesigned for this layer thicknesses, following the same procedure as the previously described.…”

“…Low loss, high data rate capabilities, noise rejection and electrical isolation are just a few of the important features that make fiber optic technology ideal for the transport of information in communication networks [2]. In current telecom and datacom network scenarios, the optical fibers are used to transport the information in the form of light from point A to point B, and is usually installed in the backbone and backhaul network 1 , whilst copper wire or coaxial cable is…”

“…2 In telecommunications, the last mile or last kilometer is the final leg of delivering connectivity from a communications provider to a customer in the access network. 3 F T T H is a broadband network architecture that uses optical fiber to replace all or part of the usual metal local loop used for last mile telecommunications in which the fiber reaches the boundary of the living space, such as a box on the outside wall of a home.…”

“…Study, modeling and design optimization of efficient vertical coupling techniques between optical fibers and silicon photonic integrated circuits. 2. Study, modeling and design optimization of efficient horizontal coupling techniques between optical fibers and silicon photonic integrated circuits.…”

“…2 Although first electro-optical free carrier injection laser prototypes have recently been achieved in silicon technology [7], electrically pumped pure silicon-based lasers continue being the Holy Grail in silicon photonics [8] …”