Science Daily November 28, 2018
Optical fibers carry data and guide ultrasound waves. Earlier this year researchers showed that mutual effects of light and sound waves that co-propagate in a fiber. In their research researchers in Israel constructed a distributed spectrometer, a measurement protocol that can map local power levels of multiple optical wave components over many kilometers of fiber. The measurements unravel how the generation of ultrasonic waves can mix these optical waves together. Rather than propagate independently, the opto-mechanical interactions lead to the amplification of certain optical waves, and to the attenuation of others, in a complicated fashion. This new insight may be applied to sensor systems of longer reach, higher spatial resolution, and better precision…read more. Open Access TECHNIAL ARTICLE
This is a map of the opto-mechanics of a standard optical fiber. Colors denote the strength of the interaction between light and sound waves.