In our latest video abstract, Professor John Ballato of Clemson University discusses the future of optical communications. The demands being put on optical data networks – the underpinning of all global communications – are pushing current optical fibers to their limit.
Their useful lifetime has been extended by applying complex structural designs in their manufacture, but here Professor Ballato argues that it’s better to go back to basics, and to find a better material, and a better processing method, for these essential components of modern life.
This video is based on a paper, published by Professor Ballato and Dr. Peter Dragic of the University of Illinois in the Journal of the American Ceramic Society, entitled Rethinking Optical Fiber: New Demands, Old Glasses.
