Papiya Dhara, Author at Adamas University

#LASERNEXT: THE HIGHLY PRIORITIZED INDUSTRIAL PREREQUISITE, OPTICAL FIBER LASER

Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation or LASER invented as an extension of the maser, or “Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.” Name indicates, the maser is an amplifier that was originally used for amplifying weak radio signals from space. Laser devices or technology use light to store, transfer, or print images and text. Contemporary world is enriched with various application of LASER in wide range like surgery and weaponry etc. The coherent radiation of the laser gives it special strength. In 1960, the discovery of Laser by T. H. Maiman plays a vital role in the development of the optical technology. Recently, in 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for the development of optical tweezers and its application to biological systems and for the development of ultra-high power, ultra-short pulse lasers.

But what is the priority in this domain!!

Last two decades, fiber laser technologies have developed to such manner that they have literally captured a huge commercial laser marketplace. Still, there is an apparently unquenchable thirst for ever greater optical power to levels where certain harmful light-matter. In the past decade or so, the industry has focused mainly on waveguide engineering to overcome many of these hurdles.

How fiber laser works?

A laser generally encompasses an optical resonator or laser cavity in which light can oscillate (e.g. between two mirrors) and an active medium(e.g. a laser crystal) within this resonator, which serves to amplify the light. Without the active medium, the oscillating light would become weaker and weaker in each resonator round trip because of some losses. The active medium requires some external supply of energy, we can entitled as pumping energy by injecting light (optical pumping) or an electric current (electrical pumping in semiconductor lasers). The principle of laser amplification is stimulated emission.

In fiber laser, the active medium is an optical fiber doped with rare-earth elements such as erbium, ytterbium, neodymium, dysprosium, praseodymium, thulium and holmium. They are associated to doped fiber amplifiers, which provide light amplification without conventional lasing action. Fiber nonlinearities, such as stimulated Raman scattering or four-wave mixing can also provide gain and thus behave as gain media for a fiber laser. Fabrication of the active medium used to perform with a focus on the more conventional chemical vapor deposition methods.

Invention & commercial availability of fiber Laser

The fiber laser has a long history almost like laser itself. After its invention in 1963 by Elias Snitzer, the fiber laser developed in almost two decades of growth before the first commercial devices available on the market in 1990. This fiber lasers used single-mode diode pumping having a few tens of milliwatts power lasing action and it was attractive for the users because of their large gains and the feasibility as single-mode continuous-wave (CW) laser source. Recent developments in fiber laser technology is very impressive and have directed to a rapid and large rise in achieved diffraction-limited beam powers from diode-pumped solid-state lasers.

In 2001,introduction of large mode area (LMA) hollow photonic crystal fibers associated with high power and high brightness diodes, continuous-wave(CW) single-transverse-mode powers from Ytterbium(Yb)-doped fiber lasers have increased from 100 W to over 20 kW. A combined beam fiber laser demonstrated power of 30 kW in 2014. Double cladding optical fiber structures have been utilized to reduce the brightness requirements of the high-power pump diodes by controlling pump propagation and absorption between the inner cladding and the core.

High-Power Fiber Lasers Revival

Since invention and evaluation of fiber lasers, it has placed down a strong track record for high-power, high-quality beams for industry and even the military. Researchers and manufacturers are pushing them to achieve beyond current limits of laser power. One of best fiber laser company, IPG Photonics started with a one-watt single-mode fiber laser in 1995 and it had reached single-mode CW output of 1 kilowatt(kW) by 2004, which was exactly requirement of Military and various industry. An impressive engineering achievement by IPG that remained significant for single-mode fiber lasers is to reach 10 kW as reported in 2009. Multimode fiber(MMF) lasers can operate at continuous power levels to 100 kW because MMF has larger cores spread the laser power through a larger volume, reducing the power density that contributes to nonlinear effects. The high beam quality of single-mode fiber lasers is attraction of this laser, it facilitates large scale users, from the researchers to military communities due to its higher powers along with good beam quality. The current status of manufactures of high-power CW Ytterbium lasers in 1 to >100 kW range and Erbium, Thulium and Raman fiber lasers in 1 to 5 kW range.

Growth in power of IPG Photonics fiber-laser Picture curtsey: IPG Photonics

Industrial Necessity: Fiber laser cutting machine and its prospects

Fiber laser use is countless, but it majorly used in the heavy manufacturing industries, includes automobile industry. 2D and 3D sheet metal cutting are completely dependent on fiber laser cutting as it is beneficial for faster production with sufficient precision and perfection. Many of the components and parts of automobile have been made through the fiber laser cutting. Equipment and machinery parts used in pharmaceuticals industry are also designed by fiber laser cutting. Fiber laser cutting machines is fruitful upon both metals and non-metals surface for cutting or drilling. In consequence, steel industry, textile industry, architecture, leather industry, furniture industry, plastic processing industries etc. are using fiber laser with no doubt.

Now a days, the storage, the micro-sd cards, the circuit boards whatever we use, the production of all these have direct relation with fiber laser cutting. Fiber laser cutting is also working efficiently in complicated designs with enough detailing and delicacy with smooth finish. Therefore, it is widely used in textile, leather and jewelry industry, fashionable garments, stylish accessories, decorative and fancy items, ornaments through skilful execution of fiber laser cutting work. Our electronic home appliances CD or DVD to medical stent cutting machines everything has the contribution of laser cutting behind their production.

Fiber laser cutting is efficient to work upon every kind of plastic material, such as polyester, polycarbonate, polypropylene. Actually, fiber laser allows heat very preciously and accurately which help for deliberating smooth, clean edges to the final products. With time new trends and demands are evaluating the fiber laser industry dramatically.

Picture curtsey: OSA

Military benefit: National security

High-power fiber lasers have been in military systems for defence as relatively short-range weapons, such as rockets, artillery, mortars, small boats and drones and perhaps it could be considered as most successful for security of citizen of any country.

It is very inspiring story from the U.S. Office of Naval Research that they buy half a dozen 5.5-kW industrial fiber lasers from IPG. They combine their beams incoherently by aiming them with different mirrors through a single telescope toward the same target. The fiber laser is called as Navy LaWS, for Laser Weapon System which was mounted on the USS Ponce when it was deployed to the Persian Gulf in 2014.

Still now, the most successful approach to producing weapon-grade fiber lasers has been reported as spectral beam combination, essentially a military-strength version of dense wavelength-division multiplexing. The drawback in fiber laser weapon showed that thermal blooming, air turbulence and heating of laser optics, which would make hindrance to deliver continuous powers above 100 kW beyond 5 km. The military requirement is more power and more distance.

In 2017, U.S. army delivered a 60-kW version to the Army Space and Missile Defense Systems Command in Huntsville. They are also trying to build fiber lasers emitting 60–150 kW. U.S. defence agency proposed that spectral beam combination of fiber lasers could allow 300-kW generation of laser weapons near future.

DRDO, India has made significant progress in building laser weapons capability, or Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs), as reported in recent news. DEWs are primarily used to damage or destroy enemy’s facilities, aircraft, anti-personnel weapon systems, missiles based on electronic circuitry. DRDO scientists have been working in this area for the past three to four years to develop 10-kW and 20-kW. Fiber Laser technology could place defence of any country at least 10-20 years in advance.

Laser weapon Picture curtsey: https://www.lockheedmartin.com/

#OPTICSPLUS: THE REFORM OF THE APPLIED OPTICS COURSE FOR MULTIDISCIPLINARY STUDENTS AND PROFESSIONALS

Is it possible to imagine the world without light? Life starts with blessing of light. Euclid, also called Euclid of Alexandria, was a Greek mathematician who was born between the year of 320 and 324 BC. In his Optica, he noted that light travels in straight lines and described the law of reflection. Urge of research in light and optics initiated from that ancient time even further than the work of Galileo and Newton. Recent trend in optics research has grown with the invention of the laser, semi-conductor, photography, telescope, microscope and imaging. The increasing interaction between optics and electronics develop various new materials with unique optical properties, and other extraordinary advances. Significantly, light-based research progress impulses our society forward, from transformation data through optical fiber around globe to diagnosis of some diseases early and bring hope to our own family.

But is our education system taking responsibility for awareness of students on light?

There is deficiency of optics education in high schools in India and it create very little knowledge about applied optics for the new students in our universities. The new generations are using smart phones, laptops etc. taking photos to store their every moment of life but they think optics as eccentric research field. Significantly, the students from Liberal and Arts, feel optics far away from them and not necessary, difficult stuff.

In 2015, the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies, various universities around the world offered the course Light-based Science and Technologies as a general education course for multidisciplinary students.

Spreading the knowledge of applied optics among multidisciplinary students could be a progressive upcoming step for this domain.

Popular and striking course design

Multidisciplinary course material should have wide range coverage comparing to a professional optical course. We could segregate the course as part one consists the time sequence of historic events of light and part two contents academic area. Aim of the course should be to connect our daily life with science, to make a bridge between optics and different field like politics, economics, law and arts. Recently, Zhejiang University has proposed a 16 weeks general course on optics having optics in Mozi, geometrical optics in ancient Greece and civilization in ancient Greece, geometrical optics in Europe and the invention of spectacles; Leonardo da Vinci’s arts: light and image, Snell’s law; optical achievements of amateur scientist Fermat; Galileo discovered the new universe; the invention of microscope, the observation of Levenhoek and the establishment of microbiology; Photography principles, Louis Daguerre and camera; the development of photography since 19th century etc.

Optometry education based on applied optics: Reform laboratory setting

Don’t you think that optics of the eye are a superb model to use in optics education? Optometry education starts with basic optics course, consists with geometrical, physical, and visual optics principals that will be the base of clinical understanding of eye and foundation of advance course like ophthalmic optics and contact lenses. In optics education, hands on experiences of looking at distant and close objects by using glasses and contact lenses as correcting devices is necessary for understanding of everyday visualization.

Introductory discussions of lens and human eye is possible with this model eye and includes many features that are useful in the demonstration of ophthalmic concepts such as: an object eye chart, a holder for correcting lenses, an adjustable diaphragm that may be filled with water to change lens power, and an adjustable screen/retina with marks for the fovea and optic disk/blind spot.

Picture Curtsey: Optical Society of America (OSA) (https://denoyer.com/products/jumbo-functioning-eye)

Reform teaching method: Discussion, argument on Optics and problem solving

Imaging, prediction, experimentation and confirmation, these are the four steps of evaluation of science. In 1864, Maxwell imagined the existence of electromagnetic waves and created Maxwell’s equations based on his previous studies and mathematical derivation. After almost 20 years, Hertz published a series of papers that permitted Maxwell’s theory to spread in Europe. Thereafter, he proved that light is an electromagnetic wave by experiments.

Discussion on this domain is very significant to start the growth in multidisciplinary area as well as professional. Arguments are very important to find truth; which certainly based on facts. An example on argument is about Galileo’s telescope and his observation; sometime it is wrongly controlled by powerful people, not with truth and justice. Reformation our teaching method will be opening up mind of next generation.

Digital platform of teaching-learning method could accelerate the understanding of optics. Course materials should not be simple which can fast-forward the student from a question to an answer. Avoiding the conventional descriptive type question answer, focus should be made on practical problem-solving ability. In these procedures, thought processes will get complete understanding of the solution. Encompassing the ideas learned in the classroom to the lab and vice-versa is awfully important and can facilitate this learning process.

New addition of applied optics into the undergraduate Physics

Students only can learn applied optics if they are allowed to proceed through sequence of discovery-based laboratory experiences. The aim of the course should be to provide hands-on experience and in-depth knowledge of students for graduate programs in optics or as applied optics professional for new emerging high-tech local industries. In unconventional way, the applied optics course should be inclined towards laboratory work. In consequence, four contact hours per week should include a one-hour lecture and a three-hour lab.

Multidisciplinary projects will be encouraged to successful implementation of knowledge. Students should be encouraged to perform application-based projects such as optical properties of thin semiconductor films, diffraction from thin films of self-assembled micron size particles, image processing, fiber optics-based sensor, diffraction effect from butterfly wings, digital holography, ocean optics, etc. The new introduction in domain could be extend knowledge on aberrations of any optical devices, microscopes and telescopes, cameras and photography, visual processing, light sources and detectors, optical fiber based devices, quantum nature of light, lasers, laser applications, holography, nonlinear optical phenomena, ocean optics, ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) optics materials.

The lab experiments have to be enlisted from a broad range of topics in optics and lasers, emphasizing on geometrical optics and aberrations in optical systems, wave optics, microscopy, spectroscopy, polarization, birefringence, laser generation, laser properties and applications, optical fiber and optical standards. The starting budget of about $60,000 is providing advanced lab equipment from Newport Co. and MICOS Co.

Know about optical technology careers

The rising industry creates a huge job opportunity and it is distributed in industries include: Aerospace & Aviation division, Laboratory & University, Space centre, Manufacturing equipment, Communications, Electronics/Semiconductor, Medical/Biotechnology, Military, Photonics, Chemical, Pharmaceuticals, Environment. There are demands of optical engineers/ optical fiber expert in different companies such as, Verizon, AT&T, Tata Communication, Comcast and Google Fibre etc.; in India, Reliance Jio, Vodafone, Airtel etc.; cosmetic laser technician etc.

Role of university for spreading optical education in benefit of optical industry & research

Most high school students receive small exposure to physics because of the mathematics involved with Physics and presuppositions that physics is a difficult science. As a result, few students are aware of the abundant career opportunities in this field. In order to bring student’s attention to this rapidly evolving discipline, offering workshops or any outreach program for high school students is very effective.

Optical technology is overwhelming in industrial applications and research fields such as laser processing, DVD, displays, barcodes, and advanced measurement in medical or material research. In 1960, the discovery of Laser by T. H. Maiman plays a vital role in the development of these optical technologies. Recent, in 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for the development of optical tweezers and its application to biological systems and for the development of ultra-high power, ultra-short pulse lasers.

Definitely, Optics is recognized as an integrated field of knowledge. The universities should outspread optical education across different disciplinary, includes science departments, engineering departments, and departments in schools of medicine. Because the field of optics is not sharply defined by a job position or in a single professional society, it can be difficult to develop a quantitative picture of the volume of the optics research community. University should understand the causes of the gap between advanced optical research and optical industry and to explore its solutions from the perspective of light education.

Study on growth of optical technology based on statistics on different conference, workshop etc. attendee shows its rapid development. Annual U.S. Conference on Lasers and Electro-optics (CLEO), Optical Fiber Conference, annual meeting of the Quantum Electronics and Lasers Society, the International Quantum Electronics Conference, the annual meeting of the Optical Society of America, the Lasers and Electro-optics Society annual meeting, and conferences organized throughout the year by SPIE, such as Photonics West and Photonics East, altogether, the field involves more than 30,000 active scientists and engineers worldwide.

Impact on the economy is very remarkable, such as optoelectronics is now a major component of U.S. import and export trade. The rate of formation of optics-related businesses has grown rapidly during the 1990s.

The university should realize greater investment in research and education in optics with collaboration of other institutions and government funding agency. We are confident that these findings will produce the bringing up of optical engineers and the development of the optical industry.

Picture Curtsey: https://www.extremetech.com/

Optical Fibre & LASER Technology Edification: Diverse Career Prospects

Optical fiber refers to the medium or waveguide and the technology linked with the transmission of information as light pulses along a glass or plastic element or fiber. Today more than 90 percent of the world’s long-distance traffic is passed over optical fiber cables as it provides high-performance data networking. Fiber optics technology are also commonly used in telecommunication services, like internet, television and telephones. Verizon and Google have explored fiber optics in their Verizon FIOS and Google Fiber services which is providing gigabit internet speeds to users. Another relatively unexplored area is optical sensing with optical fiber, with myriad opportunities spanning many fields including environmental detection, biomedical sensing, and structural monitoring.

Photonics: A sub-discipline of Physics introduce the science of creating, sensing and monitoring photons or light particles

Photonics includes light emission, transmission, deflection, amplification and detection by optical components and instruments. Most significantly, whenever career opportunity on Photonics is point of interest, the other sub-component such as lasers and other light sources, fiber optics, electro-optical instrumentation, related hardware and electronics and sophisticated systems is very important. In brief, optical fiber technology and LASER education is sort of diverging your job opportunity in India, Europe and USA.

Institutions who offer knowledge!!

In India, the International School of Photonics (Cochin University of Science and Technology) offers M.Tech, MPhil and PhD programs in Photonics.
Many IITs, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology offer MTech degree in applied optic or Optical engineering, candidates pursuing this degree always follow up with Laser and Fiber optics special/elective paper.
Apart from this many other universities like Calcutta University, Adamas University etc. and engineering colleges across the country offer optoelectronics and photonics or Applied optics as interdisciplinary subjects.
The course structure of B.Sc. Physics, Adamas University always cover paper like Electromagnetic wave theory, Laser and Fiber Optics. Thus, a candidate having Bachelor’s degree with Physics and Mathematics can pursue M.Sc in Photonics or optoelectronics.
With M.Sc in Physics or Photonics, one can pursue MTech/ MPhil/PhD in the field.
All major universities of the world offer courses in Photonics and optoelectronics. The University of New South Wales, Institute of Physics (London) and University of Leeds are few renowned institutes abroad offering courses in Photonics and related field.

Interesting fact you wanted to know about photonics/Optical fiber technology and laser careers

Recently, the medical aesthetics industryhas prolonged by leaps and bounds as more people mandate aesthetic services to enhance their looks as well as youth. Medical aesthetics institutions across the country offer training programs for individuals looking to become a cosmetic laser technician.

Photonic or Laser job prospective industries include: Aerospace & Aviation division, Laboratory & University, Manufacturing equipment, Communications, Electronics/Semiconductor, Medical/Biotechnology, Military, Photonics, Chemical, Pharmaceuticals, Environment.

Picture Curtsey: Phtonics.com

Don’t be surprise! Surveys conducted during the past several years depicted that European workers in the photonics industry are generally satisfied with their jobs, enjoy prolonged vacations and earn a better-than-average living with their highly specialized, technical knowledge.

1. Recent techno-savvy India demands scientists, engineers and technicians with relevant qualification and experience of photonics. Making a career in Photonics is stable and rewarding. Students of Photonics and Optoelectronics are fascinated as sales or service engineers in high-tech equipment industries; High scope as researcher or professional officers in universities, government and industry-research laboratories. There is opportunity as optical communications network support engineers and managers; and also, in defence research and development organizations.
2. As broadband access expands to more communities and rural areas, the use and deployment of fiber optic networks continues to grow as people rely heavily on the availability of faster broadband speeds to stay connected and utilize the latest apps and services. As a result, there are demands of optical engineers/ optical fiber expert in different companies such as, Verizon, AT&T, Tata Communication, Comcast and Google Fibre etc. In India, Reliance Jio, Vodafone, Airtel, Sify Technologies, Siemens Limited, Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited, Cisco, Nokia etc.

Future industry will bring an enormous marketplace for the optical fiber & Laser accessory instruments. There will be increasing demand for more effective cleavers, low-loss splicers, multi-port couplers, intra-fiber devices, and mode-area transformers etc. Consequently, the associated companies will create job market. If economy of any country lagging behind, they should make strategy promptly on optical Fibre and Laser technology. Private sector, R & D sector should attentive more on this technology and application related to it. Thus, photonics technology could accelerate global technical progress delightfully.

Photonic Crystal fiber: A new solution in contemporary global technology

Optical fiber is a filament of transparent dielectric material like glass or plastic usually cylindrical in shape which is a guidance system for light. Guidance of light is achieved through multiple total internal reflections (TIR) at the fiber walls. There are some optical fibers which have been designed for the special purpose called ‘special fiber’ having non-cylindrical core and cladding layer, generally, an elliptical or rectangular cross-section. ‘Crystals’ always represents periodic structures in space. In the electronics industry, crystal structure control and manipulate electrons as it creates energy gaps by allowing only electrons with certain energies to propagate with preventing the propagation of other energies.

Can analogous energy gaps be designed for the light propagation in a medium?

Photonic crystal: Science or nature

We can control light or ‘photon’ propagation in a periodic medium by any materials that create energy gaps for light propagation and it is referred to as a ‘photonic crystal’.

Photonic crystal structure is possible in fiber when it is made with a regular pattern of index variation. Light is confined within such fiber by diffraction effects instead of or in addition to total internal reflection, to the fiber’s core. The properties of the fiber can be customized to a wide variety of applications.

Photonic crystals are not innovative to our nature. They have been observed in the bright coloured coats of insects such as longhorns. Various species are able to show different colours by varying the periodicity of the crystals. Peacock feather, Morpho butterfly, sea mouse hair, natural opals etc. are brilliant existence of natural photonic crystal. Modification of chameleon skin colour is possible by changing the periodicity of the photonic crystals on its skin.

Picture courtsey: Science Direct (Longhorn species, different colours by varying the periodicity of the crystals)

Introducing pathway by Philip Russell

In 1996, Philip Russell first demonstrated PCF structure. He proposed that the designing and fabrication method of PCF depends on the number of dimensions that the photonic band gap must exist such as one dimensional, 2-dimensional and three-dimensional. The photonic crystal structures due to periodic variation of dielectric along the different (one, two and three) direction.

Index-guiding PCFs

The index-guiding PCF has solid core same as conventional optical fiber. It is made by packing a series of hollow glass capillary tubes around a solid glass core that runs through the center. This fiber guides light by TIR, because the cladding with its air holes effectively has a lower refractive index than the core.

Photonic band gap fiber

In photonic band gap fiber, the core is a region with an extra hole, which is low-index defect. The cladding, therefore, has a higher refractive index than the core and so guidance by conventional TIR is not possible. In this case, the light is actually guided along the low-refractive-index air core by a photonic band-gap confinement effect.

Picture courtsey: Laser focus world (Figure a, b & c, PCF manufacture by Stack and draw technique),Google image (Figure d ,PCF spool, commercially available in market),Google image (Figure e cross sectional view of hollow-core PCF), http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.024502 (Figure f, Light guided in hollow-core PCF)

Manufacture and Commercial availability of PCF, which change different global technology

Most of the PCF manufacturer use stack-and-draw technique to design PCF, which basically consist with following steps: firstly, constructs a “preform” on the scale of centimetres in size, then heats the preform and draws it down to a much smaller like a human hair diameter, maintaining the same features of preform. Over 50 companies offer PCF all around world with different specifications like Thorlabs, NKT Photonics, Newport, YSL Photonics, Fiberware, GLOPhotonics SAS, ELUXI Ltd. etc. In India, CGCRI-Kolkata is front line PCF manufacturer.

Benefit of PCF, why technology demand it?

Ascending from a technology stalwartly attentive on telecommunications, recently optical fiber is expanding in some diverse fields as biotechnology, astronomy and medicine. One particularly attractive feature of PCF structures is highly uniformity over long distances. This means that when light launched in at one end of fiber has time to sort itself out into a single mode. It permits highly reproducible detectability. Essentially, undesirable cladding modes are efficiently filtered out before they can interfere with any measurement which increase quality of any measurement.

In 2000, most celebrated application of PCF is supercontinuum generation from un-amplified Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser pulses at 800 nanometer wavelength. Thereafter, hollow core PCF(HCPCF) has been utilized in many captivating applications, such as gas-Raman cells for high efficiency, low threshold color-conversion of laser light. In 2002, HCFCF was used in laser-tweezer propulsion and guidance of small particles along a curved path. Recently, demand of HCPCF increase in area of optical sensing, with myriad opportunities crossing many fields which includes environmental detection, biomedical sensing, and structural monitoring.

Contemporary Laser and Sensing technology

Commercially available white light supercontinuum sources are speedily becoming an essential tool in laboratories worldwide and in commercial microscopes. High power industrial PCF based laser research, manufacture and use are overwhelming day by day. The advantages of PCF based laser are low operating costs, high beam quality and high efficiency in a maintenance-free format with a small footprint and low weight.

Many bio-hazardous gases, includes methane and hydrogen halides have their absorption in the near infrared region. In gas sensing process, gas is allowed to enter into the surrounding holes in the PCF as it will absorb the evanescent light from the core fiber. Depending on the intensity of the absorption wavelength, the output power is reduced strongly at the wavelength of interest. Similar mechanism is also followed for sensing fluids and biomolecules. Likewise, PCF laser, PCF based sensor research are encouraging sensor market as within a few years it could share at a significant way and are projected to be the industry standard.

If anybody is interested to utilize photonics as sensing technology, then future industry will bring a huge market for the accessory instruments with a numerous of other advantage. There will be increasing demand for more effective cleavers, low-loss splicers, multi-port couplers, intra-fiber devices, and mode-area transformers etc. Government of any country should invest on PCF based laser or sensor project. R & D sector needs to think more. Consequently, through photonic crystal fiber based technology, we are approaching superior technology, huge job opportunity and an improved world.

Optical Fibre: To cater the sudden increase in demand of internet bandwidth at the time of Covid-19

“Internet”, The quintessential commodities of modern life, has seen exponential increase of its usage over the last few years due to the digital revolution happening around us. Every business from banking, e-commerce, manufacturing, retail, healthcare is rapidly adopting digital technologies like AI, Cloud, Analytics in order to stay relevant in this hyper competitive market. It is even difficult for most of us to lead a normal life without the help of internet. COVID-19, the pandemic, confined mankind within the boundary of their home, millions of people compelled to work from home and stuck to their computers than ever before. Buzzing of images, videos in social media making socialization in digital canvas. Vodafone already declared in a recent article that data traffic increase by 50% in some markets. Online services are being obstructed, broadband downloading speed becoming low and FWA has limitation.

So, are we ready to tackle this crucial situation?

Internet over Optical Fibre: The solution

Optical Fibreinternet is faster than average broadband speeds, cost-effective, safe, high speed download capabilityand it is more reliable than copper and far more stable than Wireless, mobile connectivity . If your broadband download speed is 50Mbps, (extremely generous – average internet speeds only just topped 18.7Mbps in 2017), downloading a game, 100 songs, a full HD quality movie or 100 photos is up to 20 times faster with a Gigabit Fibre connection. A household minimum broadband speed guide, provided by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as browsing, email, and social media, need 1Mbps, video calls 6Mbps, streaming HD video 5-8 Mbps etc. This is awfullyvaluable in the time of remote work, due to Coronavirus.

When optical fibre technology started?

Euclid, also called Euclid of Alexandria, was a Greek mathematician who was born between the year of 320 and 324 BC. In his Optica, he noted that light travels in straight lines and described the law of reflection. In 1854, John Tyndall demonstrated to the Royal Society that light could be conducted through a curved stream of water which providing evidence that a light signal could be bent. The American scientist David Smith applied for a patent on a bent glass rod device to be used as a surgical lamp, in 1898. In 1961, Elias Snitzer of American Optical Corporation published a theoretical description of single mode fiber. That idea was for a medical instrument looking inside the human which is the threshold of the optical fiber. sensing, but the fiber had a light loss of 1000 dB/km and even more. A further theoretical specification was identified by the Nobel Prize winner Dr. C. K. Kao for long-range communication devices and he concluded that the fundamental limitation for glass light attenuation is below 20 dB/km in 1964. Communications devices needed to operate over much longer distances and required a low light loss of no more than 10 or 20 dB/km. This conclusion opened the intense contest to find low-loss materials and suitable fibers for reaching such criteria.

Breaking hindrance

In 1969, Kao illustrated the need for a purer form of glass to help reduce light loss and Kao with M.W. Jones measured the intrinsic loss of bulk-fused silica at 4 dB/km. After this, Robert Maurer, Donald Keck and Peter Schultzinvestigated fused silica of extreme purity, a high melting point and a low refractive index. In 1970, Corning Glass researchers solved the problems presented by Dr. Kao by inventing Optical Fiber which is efficient of carrying 65,000 times more information than copper wire. Since then the technology has been improving day by day and the current state of art fabricated fibers have losses even less than 0.2 dB/km at communication wavelength 1.55µm.

Commercial availability of optical fiber internet, which change the game

In 1975, the U.S. government had used Fibre optic cables to link two computers, reducing interference.Chicago became home to the first Fibre optic telephone communication systems, which were concealed underneath the city. At that time, the optical Fibre carried what is equivalent to 672 voice channels. In 1988, the first transatlantic Fibre-optic cable, TAT-8, transmitted data across the ocean floor from New Jersey to England and France. It was efficient of handling 40,000 simultaneous voice calls.Today more than 90 percent of the world’s long-distance traffic is conceded over optical fiber cables.

Who offers Fibre optic internet?

Over 200 internet service providers offer Fibre optic internet like Verizon, AT&T, Tata Communication, Comcast and Google Fibre etc. In India, Reliance Jio, Vodafone, Airtel, Sify Technologies etc. are helping the huge working force to work from home in this coronavirus time as front-line warrior to run India.

Major reasons why optical Fibre internet is future of world? A lesson from COVID-19 time

Most versatile technology creating backbone of 5G, WIFI, satellite so far.
Dreaming to live in smarthome and security?It will be possible by Internet of Things. Robotic surgery, professional telecommunication, distance learning, telemedicine etc. are going to be our part of life. These all technologies are possible when 5G accelerated by optical fibre internet.
Transportation and power generation are two biggest impacts on global warming. High speed Fibre internet connectivity ensure remote work to reduce both.
Don’t be surprise! Data indicates that high speed or broadband internet will improve the economic climate.
Could you remember the incident of 2019, Kingdom of Tonga faced crucial moment for few days due to cut off under marine optical Fibre? So, don’t remain in myth that internet connectivity is wireless. Hundreds of undersea optical Fibrecables controlling international data traffic.Yes, Wait for future high-speed connectivity.

6.COVID-19 outbreak changes the current scenario unpredictable than ever before. The remote working may become a preferable custom if the global workforce working remotely,report remarkably higher productivity during lockdown time. Consequently, the pandemic lesson will prepare us for the high bandwidth demands of tomorrow.

Government of any country should plan for tomorrow by investing on optical Fibre internet project. R & D sector needs to think more. Private sector should focus more on this technology and application related to it. Economy of any country lagging behind, they should make strategy promptly on optical Fibre internet. We are approaching not virtual connection, it would be physical, lively, united and progressive for human being.