14 DAY TRIAL // Optical fibers have usage in a broad range of applications that involve the transmission and processing of light signals, starting with telecommunications, computing, all the way to remote sensing and medical devices. But optical fibers are not perfect, at least not in the way we would like them to be. On top of the fact that light signals degrade severely after traveling a certain distance, they also lack the ability of transmitting electrical signals at the same time.
Penn State University and University of Southampton believe they are able to fix this little problem by incorporating single-crystal semiconductors into a hollow optical fiber. They have recently developed such a device with the help of research data collected during experiments in 2006. The single crystal semiconductor they have build consists of a hollow polycrystalline optical fiber filled with amorphous semiconductor materials, in order to give it both optical and electronic characteristics.
"For most applications, single crystal semiconductor materials have better performance than polycrystalline and amorphous materials", says John Badding, one of the researcher participating in the study and associate processor of chemistry at Penn State University. The ability to encase single crystal semiconductors into optical fiber increases its functionality and could also lead to further improvements in multiple areas of science.
The Manufacturing Stage
The manufacturing process involves pumping high-pressure fluid-liquid-solid crystal material inside a hallow optical fiber. In the first stage of development, scientists plant a plug into the optical fiber through a technique which involves light sensitive substances, that solidify when interacting with laser light - a gold compound deposits a gold plug. Silane, a silicon-hydrogen compound, is then introduced in the hallow tube with the help of a high-pressure helium stream. The whole fiber is then heated to decompose the silane compound, reaction catalyzed by the presence of gold, thus creating a single crystal wire.
"The key to joining two technologies lies not only in the materials, but also in how the functions are built in," said Optoelectronics Research Center at University of Southampton senior researcher, Pier Sazio. Sazio claims that the research team is the first to create a nanostructure crystal inside a hollow optical fiber, to bring new functionality to the device. Badding argues that, by implying the new technology, electrical signals would never leave the fiber, making signal transmission a lot faster and efficient, opposed to the electrical switches we are using today.
