ZBLAN
The global internet traffic travels through a complex network of undersea and underground fibre optic cables. These cables form the backbone of the internet, connecting continents and countries, and carrying data over long distances.
As the world鈥檚 internet bandwidth needs to grow, our current fibre optics networks are struggling to keep up. The signal loss in these networks, made from silica glass fibres, is at its theoretical minimum, making further improvement nearly impossible. To tackle this problem, Flawless Photonics, in collaboration with the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide and led by Heike Ebendorff-Heidepriem, is developing a new type of telecommunication fibre based on a different glass composition, fluorozirconate glass, also known as ZBLAN.
ZBLAN glass fibre has the potential to transmit light 20 times further than traditional silica-based fibre-optic cables.听
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The team's research focuses on creating ultra-low-loss ZBLAN fibres. The first step in this process is the purification of the raw materials. This is crucial because impurities can introduce absorption of light travelling along the fibre, increasing signal loss.听
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Once the pure raw materials are obtained, the next step is the drawing process, which involves heating the glass and pulling it into fibres. Due to Earth's gravity, ZBLAN is susceptible to crystallisation during drawing, scattering light and increasing signal loss. To tackle the drawing element, Flawless Photonics and the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide are researching how to draw fibres in space鈥檚 microgravity environment, which minimises convection currents, reducing crystal formation and growth.听
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By manufacturing ZBLAN fibres with minimal signal loss, this amazing collaboration is paving the way for the next generation of telecommunications networks. This new technology could revolutionise how we transmit data, from telemedicine to quantum cryptography.听
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This advancement promises to transmit larger data volumes over longer distances, with less energy and at lower costs, potentially revolutionising society and the economy.
More on Flawless Photonics:
More on the Photonic Materials & Optical Fibres Research Group:
Read this great article for further insight:
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Professor Ebendorff-Heidepriem is based at the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide鈥檚 Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing and boasts decades of leadership in developing new forms of optical glass and fibres. With over two decades of international recognition and numerous awards, Professor Ebendorff-Heidepriem鈥檚 leadership has propelled transformative research initiatives, including the development of ZBLAN Space Fibre, an innovation with the potential to revolutionise global internet connectivity and data transfer rates.
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Optical Communication
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the whole team听Linkage and laureate -
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ZBLAN Optica Fibre Research in the news
8 October 2024 -听
