The results of a very recent telephone survey have indicated that many of you only know us for our HB-G Bow-Tie FOG Fibers - and with more than 1,300,000 m of HB800G and HB1500G shipped out of Fibercore House each and every month, the reasons for this impression are very clear indeed. Fibercore's dominant position within the FOG industry certainly confirms both the class-leading performance of our Bow-Tie PM Fiber in any Interferometric sensor (not just gyros) and our unmatched experience in the manufacture of complex Specialty Fiber to tight tolerances and in very high volumes - but we do an awful lot more than just gyro fibers.
A Wider Range of Polyimide Coated Fibers for Harsh Environment Applications
After many years of promise, fiber sensors designed to increase the productivity of oil wells, enhance the efficiency of extraction and even assist the discovery of new reserves are now starting to become accepted by the Industry and are being deployed commercially. Go to our website and you will find an expanded range of SM-P Polyimide Coated Fibers, designed for both 'Down-hole' and other Harsh Environment application. And remember, Fibercore SM-P fibers were originally designed and have evolved over our 30 year history, specifically for sensor application. Not only do they deliver exceptional resistance to bend-induced loss, but the '5.3' and '4.2' variants also offer significant intrinsic photosensitivity, greatly simplifying the inscription of the Fiber Bragg Grating upon which many sensor designs now depend.
Enhanced Efficiency IsoGain™ Erbium Doped Fiber
After the Telecoms crash, many people seem to have dismissed erbium doped fibers as mere commodities, undifferentiated and selected only on the basis of price. But in a high competitive marketplace, even the smallest changes can have a big impact - we have recently made improvements to increase the efficiency of our well-established IsoGain™ I-4 and I-6 fibers and head-to-head evaluations have shown enhanced conversion efficiency for these fibers, reconfirming IsoGain™'s class leading performance. The difference is small, but consistent and meaningful, enabling some users to use less costly pump diodes, or to under-run existing pumps to increase reliability - and confirmed by sales of IsoGain™ into China more than doubling!
Increased Interest in 'RGB' Applications
Whilst volume demand is nowhere near the levels that we see for most sensor fibers, interest in fibers capable of transmitting from the UV through to red, for use in diagnostic probes, continues to grow at a steady pace and R(ed)G(reen)B(lue) fibers will be the subject of a special Product Showcase, delivered by Fibercore's Dr Andy Gillooly at Photonics West in January 2012. The development of these fibers, and the extension of the silica-core technology to PM continues.
So after 30 years of Fibercore, what's new for 2012 - simple:
A wider range of Polyimide-Coated Fibers for Harsh Environments, Enhanced Efficiency IsoGain™ for more reliable and cost-effective EDFAs, SM300/SM400-SC for UV-Green Transmission - and more HB-G Bow-Tie used in more Gyros than ever before!
Dr Chris Emslie
Chief Executive Officer
December 2011
If you would like to know more, visit us at our booth 4926 at the Photonics West 2012 Exhibition in San Francisco during 24-26th January 2012, to discuss your requirements with us, or visit our website at http://www.fibercore.com/
