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Optical Fiber With a Silicon Core
Roland Piquepaille writes "According to the Optical Society of America, U.S. researchers have been able to create a practical optical fiber with a silicon core. As they were able to use the same commercial methods that are used to develop all-glass fibers, this might pave the way for future silicon fibers as viable alternatives to glass fibers. The scientists note that this should help increase efficiency and decrease power consumption in computers and other systems that integrate photonic and electronic devices. Here is a good summary by the lead researcher: 'In the past, we've needed one structure to process light and another to carry it. With a silicon fiber, for the first time, we have the ability to greatly enhance the functionality in one fiber.'"
You guys (Parent and Grandparent posters) are a couple of boobs.
I don't see how unfair it is that Roland Piquepaille should receive compensation for what effectively is online research. It's at least as fair as Slashdot, a for-profit company, getting loads of free online research from article submitters.
How do you lose out by his $80 an article?
Your courageous and selfless spelling corrections have made me a better person.
I was wondering the same thing. Silicon is not a glass, and cannot be stretched like a glass can.
Glasses have very fuzzy 'melting points'. In other words, they just get gooey rather than becoming a liquid. Silicon on the other hand, has a well defined melting point, and is not gooey.
Now, silicon crystals ARE grown inside of SiO2 lined graphite crucibles. So, I imagine that they might be able to melt the silicon inside of a Si02 layer, and stretch both. Then, when it cools, the silicon will form microcrystals. So, it wouldn't be crystalline, but it would still be transparent to photons with energy below 1.1 eV (wavelength greater than 1.1 um).