This Optoelectronics World special section on communications focuses on breaking ideas in fiberoptics and networking technology. The first of the two articles gives an overview of a new research area— microfluidic fiberoptics. This "holey" fiber from Lucent Technologies Bell Laboratory and OFS Laboratories achieves broadband attenuation and tunability, potentially important capabilities in fiberoptics.
The second article from Lightbit focuses on a banded optical network architecture poised to lower cost and improve performance. The concept of managing signals in bands combines several novel technologies to optimize network efficiency.