Hollow-core optical fibers enable secure communications in data centers, accurate sensing gyro for Aerospace applications

Conventional optical fibers are fabulously successful, but they have profound limitations. They contain a glass core at the center of the fiber through which light is transmitted. However, not only does this glass center limit the speed of the light as it passes through, but it also adversely affects other aspects of its propagation, thereby limiting the performance of the fiber and the associated optical system. These include a finite spectral transparency, susceptibility to optical damage, dispersion — which restricts the ability to deliver short and ultrashort pulses — and nonlinear optical response.