Scientists Create a New Kind of Optical Fiber
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light have developed an innovative optical fiber that dramatically strengthens the interaction between light and sound. By freezing the liquid inside a specially designed glass capillary to -196°C using liquid nitrogen, the team created a unique “frozen-core” optical fiber that performs far better than conventional glass fibers.
Unlike ordinary optical fibers, which mainly guide light, the new frozen fiber can guide both light and high-frequency sound waves at the same time. More importantly, these waves interact with each other over 1,000 times more strongly than they do in standard optical fibers, opening the door to a new generation of photonic technologies.
A Major Leap for Energy-Efficient Computing
The researchers achieved this breakthrough by exploiting a phenomenon known as Brillouin-Mandelstam scattering, where light transfers energy to sound waves. Freezing the liquid core creates a denser and more confined environment, significantly enhancing this interaction.
The team also demonstrated an optoacoustic memory, a system that temporarily stores information by converting fast-moving light signals into much slower sound waves before converting them back into light. Because sound travels far more slowly than light, this approach can hold information briefly while consuming much less energy.
This capability could greatly improve photonic neuromorphic computing, an emerging technology that processes information in ways inspired by the human brain. It may also benefit quantum information processing, microwave photonics, and precision sensing.
Expanding the Future of Photonics
The frozen-core fiber provides researchers with an entirely new platform for manipulating light and sound. Its exceptionally strong nonlinear properties make it attractive for developing faster, more energy-efficient optical devices.
Although the technology is still in the research stage, it demonstrates how a simple phase change—from liquid to solid—can transform the performance of optical fibers. As scientists continue refining the design, frozen-core fibers could play an important role in future communication systems, advanced sensors, quantum technologies, and next-generation computing hardware.
