Getting
to know
Cathy
Ciardiello
(Interview by Gerry Joyce, Motorola)
How did you become involved with
fiber optics?
I developed an interest in working in this field during my senior year
of college, when I took a course on lasers and fiber optics. The technology
appealed to me and so I looked for related engineering positions. I worked
for two companies developing fiber optic connectors, Cablewave Systems
in CT for commercial applications and ITT Cannon Electric, in CA for military
applications. In both of these companies those few people working on fiber
optics were part of the microwave department, since the terminations for
both were small and tightly toleranced. After taking off time for child
rearing, I returned to the field 10 years ago in marketing and sales and
have worked for two specialty fiber manufacturers, 3M, in West Haven,
CT, and then Lucent in Avon CT, which then became OFS.
Can
you define the Specialty Optical Fiber market?
The specialty optical fiber market is comprised of a growing number of
fiber manufacturers who make optical fiber other than standard telecommunications
fibers. Traditionally, these products have included multimode and singlemode
fibers with variations of core size, cladding size, operating wavelengths,
numerical aperture (NA), and coatings. The variations optimize the performance
of the fiber in a specific application, and are often designed in response
to a single customer or a small market segment. Some examples include:
coating a single mode fiber with carbon and polyimide to increase the
strength and temperature range for missile payout, designing a large core
multimode fiber for medical laser delivery, or fabricating a polarization
maintaining (PM) fiber with a reduced diameter and high NA to perform
well in interferometric sensing coils.
The rapid growth of the telecommunications industry and the various devices
and components that are part of the systems created a large demand for
other types of specialty fibers such as erbium fibers, coupler fibers,
980nm PM fibers for pump laser pigtails and 1550nm PM fibers for lithium
niobate modulators and switches. Specialty fiber manufacturers took advantage
of the technical gains attributable to telecom, by applying the technology
in new markets. For instance, the work in rare earth doped fibers for
telecom amplifiers was a base for development of the double-clad fibers
used in fiber lasers which now have application in medical devices, material
processing, micromachining, and high-power military applications.
National security
has also recently played a large role in directing the focus of specialty
fiber manufacturers. The military is moving toward the use of high speed
communication systems on aircraft, meaning that optical fibers must be
telecom quality but tougher, as they must pass vibration, shock, wide
temp requirements and a host of other test criteria. Fiber optic acoustic
sensors are towed behind submarines, mounted on a ship's hull or laid
on the ocean floor for port security. Sensing fibers, may employ the use
of fiber gratings or specialty coatings that allow them to react to the
presence of chemical and biological warfare agents or other materials.
In addition to military, these sensors have application in blood gas sensing
and other medical application. In the geophysical market, carbon and polyimide-coated
fibers provide hermetic protection and high-temp performance for distributed
temperature and strain sensors that are deployed down-hole.
Another product category that falls under the domain of specialty is that
of "microstructure fiber", also called "photonic crystal
fibers" or "holey fibers," which changes the boundaries
of optical fiber design, because light is guided in a different way than
in conventional fibers. There are many applications for these fibers in
the areas of sensing, and high power delivery.
In addition to making unusual fibers most specialty fiber manufacturers
also offer some amount of value-add services such as fiber terminations,
device sub-assemblies, specialty cables, fiber gratings, etc. These offerings
make it easier for customers to use their fibers. Because of their agility,
and the high degree of customization they perform, specialty fiber manufacturers
play a crucial role in forwarding the use of fiber optic technology in
a diverse range of applications.
About
OFS
OFS is a designer, manufacturer, and supplier of leading edge optical
fiber, optical fiber cable, optical connectivity and specialty photonics
products for a wide variety of applications and industries. OFS, formerly
the Optical Fiber Solutions division of Lucent Technologies Inc., has
a proven track record of being first in the industry with application
specific fibers, optical connectors, ribbon cables, erbium doped fibers,
Raman fiber lasers and more. OFS is committed to providing customers increased
value by offering products that deliver lowest cost per bit network solutions,
protecting investments through future flexible solutions.
OFS distributes its optical fiber, optical fiber cable, optical connectivity
and specialty photonics products directly to end users, as well as through
valued distributors, external cable customers and equipment vendors.
OFS is owned by Furukawa Electric, Co., Ltd. a multi-billion dollar
global leader in optical communications. Headquartered in Norcross, GA,
OFS operates facilities in Avon, Connecticut; Carrollton, Georgia; Somerset,
New Jersey; and Sturbridge, Massachusetts, as well as facilities in Denmark,
Germany and Russia.
For more information about the Specialty Photonics Division, please visit:
www.SpecialtyPhotonics.com
For more information about OFS, visit: www.ofsoptics.com