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Electronics Inside Optical Fiber

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the they're-inside-the-wires dept.

Ben writes "Science Blog reports a team from Penn State and the UK has built electronic compenents inside optical fiber. As the story describes it, if you think of the fiber as a water main, the structure places the pumping station inside the pipe. The goal is to figure out how to most efficiently exchange info between the fibers that carry data and the devices that manipulate it."

2 of 25 comments (clear)

  1. Can the... by Eightyford · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Can the imbedded semiconductor actually generate light pulses? I remember reading about a new breakthrough that would allow this, but the article doesn't make it clear as to whether or not it is used in this case.

    --
    Religion for nerds. Stuff that really matters
  2. What happens on failure? by RingDev · · Score: 3, Interesting

    So what if the electronic components in the fiber fail? Is someone going to have to repull that line? If so, wouldn't that make it significantly more expencive then replacing a module that is plugged in between two fiber optic lines?

    -Rick

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    "Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs