3D printing of silica glasses and silica optical fiber preforms has recently been proved experimentally. One challenge of 3D printing silica optical fibers performance is how to extend the recent ...

Dr. Shahrzad Zahertar (center) holds the developed miniaturized optical interrogator alongside a more traditional optical interrogator unit (foreground). Photo Credit: University of Southampton.

Several factors are driving the popularity of optical fiber cabling. Chief among those is the growth of high-tech applications that require the massive bandwidth fiber-optic cabling makes possible.