There has always been experiments and studies to increase the information carrying capacity of optical fibers. Assistant Professor Arash Mafi and doctoral student Salman Karbasi of the University of Wisconsin have developed a method to increase the information carrying capacity of optical fibers. The researcher's achievement marks the first practical application of a Nobel-Prize-winning phenomenon known as 'Anderson localization' that was proposed in 1958.
Anderson localization named after the American scientist P.W. Anderson is the absence of diffusion of waves in a disordered medium. Anderson localization is a general wave phenomenon and is also known as 'Strong localization. This phenomenon is applicable to the transport of electromagnetic waves, acoustic waves, quantum waves, spin waves, etc. The researchers harnessed the Anderson localization to create an optical fiber with a strong scattering mechanism that traps the beam of light as it traverses the fiber. The research was done in collaboration with a scientist Karl Koch from Corning Inc.
In conventional optical fibers only one spatial channel of light traverses. Researchers foresee that such single core fibers will reach their capacity limits. Propagation of multiple optical beams in a single strand of optical fiber may be a solution to overcome this limit. The achievement of these researchers has wide potential in next-generation high-speed communication and biomedical imaging. The new optical fiber design consists of two randomly distributed materials to scatter the photons.
The disordered interior design of new optical fiber causes a beam of light traveling through it to freeze laterally. The output light can follow any shift in the location of the entry point as it moves around on the cross-section of the fiber. Karbasi says his theoretical calculations indicated that the proper fiber design would take advantage of Anderson localization.
The information carrying capacity of conventional optical fibers itself is not utilized fully due to the transmission equipments and system limitations. Now we hear about new achievements to increase the information carrying capacity of optical fibers. This is an exciting development in fiber optics and will push researchers to develop transmission systems that can tap the potential of optical fibers.
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