Specialty fiber draws renewed interest

摘要

The days of booming demand for transmission I fibers such as SMF-28, dispersion-shifted fiber, and nonzero dispersion-shifted fiber are a distant memory. New network builds are few and large fiber production facilities have closed their doors. In contrast, optical fiber for specific if limited applications has gained more interest from government, industry, and academia. True, specialty fiber benefited from the telecom bubble, especially from the market for erbium-doped fiber amplifiers. That market has collapsed, although telecommunications still commands a share of the specialty fiber market. Defense, aerospace, oil exploration, medical, and research applications have been the recent stars. Opportunities continue for specialty products such as polarization-maintaining fiber, doped fiber, high-numerical-aperture fiber, dispersion-compensating fiber, photosensitive fiber, and holey fiber.