Photonics Terminology

Before we take a look at the tower itself, it’s worth explaining some of the terminology we will encounter.

Fabrication

Firstly, the creation process itself is know as fabrication. Fabrication is a kind of broad term, it’s an all-of-the-above way to describe process of making fibres. This is the process of cutting, shearing, shaping or moulding a material into a finished product.

Loss

Loss is the term used when explaining how much light escapes, or is lost, through refraction from the tubes at the end of the fabrication process. Fibres with the least amount of loss are highly prized, and represent some of the finest drawn fibres created in the field.

The aim of the game is to create fibre with the least amount of Loss.

Refraction

If light enters a substance with a higher refractive index then it will slow down, this causes the light to bend. If it travels into a substance with a lower refractive index then it speeds up.

The light will bend away from the ‘normal’ line, and it is this bending that produces things like prisms, magnifying glasses and rainbows - even our eyes are dependent upon this bending of light.

Propagation

When light Propagates in a transparent medium, some of its optical power might be lost due to absorption or scattering. Light will propagate differently depending on what material it is passing through, solid, liquid or gas – in this instance the light travels through air.

Light being lost through refraction in a solid fibre.

Light being guided through a Hollowware fibre.