Optical fibres are the backbone of our modern information networks. From long-range communication over the internet to high-speed information transfer within data centres and stock exchanges, optical fibre remains critical in our globalised world.
Fibre networks are not, however, structurally perfect, and information transfer can be compromised when things go wrong. Tßo address this problem, physicists at the University of Bath in the UK have developed a new kind of fibre designed to enhance the robustness of networks. This robustness could prove to be especially important in the coming age of quantum networks.
The team has fabricated optical fibres (the flexible glass channels through which information is sent) that can protect light (the medium through which data is transmitted) using the mathematics of topology. Best of all, these modified fibres are easily scalable, meaning the structure of each fibre can be preserved over thousands of kilometres.
The Bath study is published in the latest issue of Science Advances.
Reference : Nathan Roberts, Guido Baardink, Josh Nunn, Peter J. Mosley, Anton Souslov. Topological supermodes in photonic crystal fiber. Science Advances, 2022; 8 (51) DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.add3522
