Communication Needs

Which fields, other than communications, have been greatly affected by the use of fibre optics?

Public Comments

1. Lighting systems.
2. Fiber optic sensors Optical fibers can be used as sensors to measure strain, temperature, pressure and other parameters. The small size and the fact that no electrical power is needed at the remote location gives the fiber optic sensor advantages to conventional electrical sensor in certain applications. Optical fibers are used as hydrophones for seismic or SONAR applications. Hydrophone systems with more than 100 sensors per fiber cable have been developed. Hydrophone sensor systems are used by the oil industry as well as a few countries' navies. Both bottom mounted hydrophone arrays and towed streamer systems are in use. The German company Sennheiser developed a microphone working with a laser and optical fibers. Optical fiber sensors for temperature and pressure have been developed for downhole measurement in oil wells. The fiber optic sensor is well suited for this environment as it is functioning at temperatures too high for semiconductor sensors (Distributed Temperature Sensing). Another use of the optical fiber as a sensor is the optical gyroscope which is in use in the Boeing 767 and in some car models (for navigation purposes) and the use in Hydrogen microsensors. Fiber-optic sensors have been developed to measure co-located temperature and strain simultaneously with very high accuracy. This is particularly useful to acquire information from small complex structures. Other uses of optical fibers Fibers are widely used in illumination applications. They are used as light guides in medical and other applications where bright light needs to be shone on a target without a clear line-of-sight path. In some buildings, optical fibers are used to route sunlight from the roof to other parts of the building (see non-imaging optics). Optical fiber illumination is also used for decorative applications, including signs, art, and artificial Christmas trees. Swarovski boutiques use optical fibers to illuminate their crystal showcases from many different angles while only employing one light source. Optical fiber is an intrinsic part of the light-transmitting concrete building product, LiTraCon. Optical fiber is also used in imaging optics. A coherent bundle of fibers is used, sometimes along with lenses, for a long, thin imaging device called an endoscope, which is used to view objects through a small hole. Medical endoscopes are used for minimally invasive exploratory or surgical procedures (endoscopy). Industrial endoscopes (see fiberscope or borescope) are used for inspecting anything hard to reach, such as jet engine interiors. An optical fiber doped with certain rare-earth elements such as erbium can be used as the gain medium of a laser or optical amplifier. Rare-earth doped optical fibers can be used to provide signal amplification by splicing a short section of doped fiber into a regular (undoped) optical fiber line. The doped fiber is optically pumped with a second laser wavelength that is coupled into the line in addition to the signal wave. Both wavelengths of light are transmitted through the doped fiber, which transfers energy from the second pump wavelength to the signal wave. The process that causes the amplification is stimulated emission. Optical fibers doped with a wavelength shifter are used to collect scintillation light in physics experiments. Optical fiber can be used to supply a low level of power (around one watt) to electronics situated in a difficult electrical environment. Examples of this are electronics in high-powered antenna elements and measurement devices used in high voltage transmission equipment.
3. The decorative artificial plant industry. Have you seen the wild things they can do with fake christmas trees and fiber optics? Pretty cool stuff. I even have a fiber optic bonsai tree.
4. The oil industry has been affected by the use of FO, it is now possible to run offshore platforms from a remote location, these locations are called ACE Labs (Alternative Control Environments)