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Abstract:

Hollow-Core fibres (HCFs) are a type of micro-structed optical fibre where light is guided in a hollow air, gas, or vacuum filled core, rather than solid glass core, as per traditional optical fibres. This brings with it many benefits including lower and potentially tuneable optical non-linearity; lower and flatter dispersion; ultimate low latency; a higher damage threshold; and the potential for lower loss than traditional solid-core fibres across a wide wavelength range. For this reason, significant academic and, more recently, commercial effort has been invested in their development. Now, with the latest anti-resonant designs, it is possible to fabricate HCFs that outperform traditional fibres across a broad range of metrics and wavelengths, most significantly in terms of loss, making them a realistic option for the future of optical communication and a broad range of other applications.

In this talk I will discuss the design and function of these fibres, highlight some of recent results, and comment on the potential for HCFs to enhance a range of applications; most significantly those that require low loss (<1 dB/km) in the UV-visible.

Posted on behalf of: Sussex Centre for Quantum Technologies
Further information: Previous talks can be found at /research/centres/sussex-centre-for-quantum-technologies/showcase/seminars
Last updated: Thursday, 26 February 2026