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processing application such as cutting or welding. They also develop ultrashort pulse fibre lasers, delivering pulses of up to a kilowatt for a few hundred femtoseconds. Light-matter interaction at the femtosecond scale offers new opportunities for material processing, as well as a tool to study new modes of light- matter interaction. While Fraunhofer’s immediate goals
for PCF are to improve efficiency and reduce energy consumption in industrial production, Eilenberger speaks excitedly about longer-term goals. Ultrashort pulse lasers could be developed into a tabletop particle accelerator, bringing with it treatments for certain cancers, while continuous wave systems could be used as a ‘laser cannon’ to launch microsatellites into space. Then, a powerful earth- based laser could guide the satellite by illuminating an attached sail.
Handling difficult fibre PCF affords unprecedented precision for controlling the fibre’s refractive index profile by manipulating the core and cladding; still, the fibre itself is notoriously difficult to manage. Standard splicing, mode-stripping and end-cap
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procedures for optical fibres typically don’t work with PCF. Gooch and Housego builds on its experience managing optical fibre in high stress applications to offer enterprising ways around the inherent challenges. As the biggest supplier in the world
for submarine network optical fibres, Gooch and Housego’s Torquay facility specialises in design and manufacture of fibre optic components for use in harsh environment applications, including space and undersea telecommunications. PCF fits this niche, because ‘we’re good at handling difficult fibre’, said product manager Una Marvet. High reliability requires that fibre operations are carried out with a high degree of precision and repeatability. Similarly, when a lot of power propagates through a fibre, deficiencies in process or manufacturability can have disastrous consequences, so it’s important to understand how to manage and connect fibre properly.
PCF can be difficult to manage because the hole pattern changes the physical properties of the fibre, as well as the optical properties. Splicing, or joining pieces of fibre by melting them together, has to be done such that the g
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