Specialty optical fibers are playing an increasingly leading role in new applications and improved processes in the defence and security, sensing, automotive, shipbuilding and biomedicine industries.
Specialty optical fibers
Specialty optical fibers have been a topic of increasing commercial interest over the past decades. New classes of speciality optical fibres have demonstrated the potential to extend the impact of optical fibres well beyond the telecommunications arena, in areas as diverse as defence, industrial processing, marine engineering, biomedicine, DNA processing and astronomy.
Specialty optical fibers markets
They are making an impact and commercial inroads in fields such as industrial sensing, bio-medical laser delivery systems, military gyro sensors, as well as automotive lighting and control-to name just a few-and span applications as diverse as oil well downhole pressure sensors to intra-aortic catheters, to high power lasers that can cut and weld steel. The market for specialty optical fibers in 2012 will be is between $700 million (conservative estimate) and $1350 million (optimistic estimate), with polarization maintaining and metal coated fibers having an increased impact and photonic crystal fibers (PCF) beginning to dominate the fiber laser market and supplanting other large mode area double clad fibers as the fiber of choice for this market. Increased needs for eye safe and high power lasers in the medical and defense market will drive the demand for photonic crystal fibers.
[mepr-show if=”rule: 4534″] Read full article [/mepr-show]
