The success story of the optical fibre which started 40 years ago
by
Leif Stensland(Swedoptronics, Stockholm)
→
Europe/Stockholm
Oskar Klein Auditorium
Oskar Klein Auditorium
Description
In Proc IEE 113, July 1966, Charles Kuen Kao and George Hockham
published the paper "Dielectric-fibre surface waveguides for optical
frequencies", which is regarded as the starting point of optical fibre
communication. The paper dealt with most of the relevant issues of using
an optical fibre for the transmission medium of telecommunication,
including the fundamental question of the possibility of very low
attenuation. The optical fibre was at that time well established
as a light guide with application primarily for the transmission of
images in fibre bundles over lengths of a meter or less. My talk will
first cover this development, starting as long ago as 1842. Thereafter
the Kao/Hockham paper will be looked into in some detail. Further the
development that was initiated by the Kao/Hockham paper and resulted in
the low loss optical fibres of today will be reviewed. Finally a quick
view on possible future fibre types will be given.
