|
ABSTRACT
Can light
be guided by a fiber whose diameter is much smaller than the wavelength
of the light? Can we mold the flow of light on the micrometer scale so
it wraps, say, around a hair? Until recently the answer to these questions
was "no". We developed a technique for drawing long, free-standing silica
wires with diameters down to 50 nm that have a surface smoothness at
the atomic level and a high uniformity of diameter. Light can be launched
into these silica nanowires by optical evanescent coupling and the wires
allow low-loss single-mode operation. They can be bent sharply, making
it possible to control the propagation of light around micrometer - sized
corners. The nanowires have applications in microphotonic devices for
optical processing and environmental sensing.
|
|