Blasting tiny craters in glass, creating material to miniaturize telecommunication devices

Modern communication systems often employ optical fibers to carry signals across or between devices, combining more than one function into a single circuit. However, signal transmission requires long optical fibers, which makes miniaturizing the device difficult. Instead of long optical fibers, scientists have started testing planar waveguides. Investigators now report on a laser-assisted study of a type of glass that shows promise as a material for broadband planar waveguide amplifiers.