26 March 1998: In France, researchers have developed a technique for printing optical waveguides in glass that could mean cheaper communications systems. Fluoride glasses have been shown to have good …
26 March 1998: In France, researchers have developed a technique for printing optical waveguides in glass that could mean cheaper communications systems. Fluoride glasses have been shown to have good properties for the process. The research, which has been sponsored by CNET, the French telecommunications institute, has shown that the optical waveguides needed to link lasers and sensors to electronic circuits can be printed on substrates by means of ultraviolet lasers rather than through etching and photoresists. Various host materials, including silicon, have been suggested as substrates for building optical components such as amplifiers and lasers.