As a critical technology that enables many research areas, our fibres are often developed in collaboration with other ORC research groups as well as in wider academic and industrial partnerships.
A few examples of the types of fibre we develop are:
- Large mode area and double clad fibres for high-power lasers
- Fibres for next-generation optical communications
- Birefringent fibres for sensing and telecoms
- Photosensitive fibres for Bragg gratings and distributed feedback lasers
- Novel dopant fibres for lasers, amplifiers, and sensing applications
- Highly non-linear fibres for sensing and non-linear photonics research
Our work encompasses all aspects of fibre fabrication, from the materials science and chemistry used to achieve a desired fibre composition, to the physics and engineering required to develop novel structures and fabrication techniques.
Background
The ORC has a rich history of silica fibre research – much of the foundational work on key fibre fabrication processes, such as Modified Chemical Vapor Deposition (MCVD), solution doping, gas phase deposition and fibre drawing, was done here at the University of Southampton. Our expertise in fabrication is the cornerstone of fibre based research at the ORC, and has led to many world’s first demonstrations – including the Erbium doped fibre amplifier and, most recently, key results in high-power fibre lasers, and optical communications.
In addition to fundamental research on novel silica fibres, our work supports more than 100 other scientists within the ORC who are investigating applications of the unique fibres we create. Our success in crafting these innovative fibres has cultivated a multitude of external partnerships ranging from commercial supply of tailored speciality fibres to large-scale research contracts.
Having collaborated with numerous industry partners and university labs, we welcome the opportunity to work with new groups and new applications as we endeavour to push the limits of optical fibre capability.