Monday 3 December 2012

Fibercore Announces New Chairman

Fibercore, a UK based global market leader in the design and manufacturing of specialty optical fibers would like to announce two board level appointments.  Ex BAE Systems plc CEO, John Weston, has been appointed as Chairman of the Board and ex Thus plc COO, Phil Male, will act as strategic advisor.


These appointments follow the recent management buyout of the group from Cisco Systems, Inc by CEO Dr Chris Emslie backed by H.I.G. Capital, a private equity fund with over €8.5 billion in funds under management.


Dr Emslie comments, “We couldn’t ask for better, more experienced industry veterans for our Board.  I am delighted to welcome John and Phil to Fibercore.  Both are highly accomplished executives in their respective fields and their collective experience will be invaluable in helping shape the future of Fibercore.”

John Weston

Having studied engineering at Cambridge, John Weston worked with what was to become BAE Systems plc until 2002.  Ultimately becoming CEO, forming a group with $20 billion in sales and employing 120,000 people, he was a member of the quartet credited with turning around the group’s fortunes in the 1990s.  Since leaving BAE Systems John has held a number of chairman positions including Spirent plc, iSOFT plc, and Inbis plc. He is currently working with MB Aerospace, an aerospace machining and design engineering business, Torotrack, a manufacturer of continuously variable transmissions and Lo-Q, a systems company in innovative queuing devices.



Phil Male

Phil Male has been involved in the development of the media, internet and telecommunications sectors since the late 1980s.  He obtained a computer science degree from Imperial College where he was involved in the early operations of the UK’s first academic IP networks. Phil became Technical Director with the start-up Demon Internet, one of the world’s first internet service providers.  Upon its sale to and subsequent demerger from Scottish Power plc, he became a founder and Chief Operating Officer for Thus plc as it then became known.  This was further sold to Cable and Wireless plc where Phil became Operations and Customer Services Director.  Phil is now CEO of UK2 Group, a multinational data hosting group and holds various non-executive roles.


Founded 30 years ago, Fibercore was formed as a spin-out from the world-renowned Optical Fiber Group of the University of Southampton (ORC), offering specialty optical fibers developed at the university.  Today, Fibercore is a global leader in specialty optical fiber, developing, designing and manufacturing specialty fiber for more than 300 customers across the world.  Shipping over 1.4 million meters of fiber per month, Fibercore provides fiber for a broad range of applications.  This includes fiber optic gyroscopes, hydrophones and geophones, harsh environments such as high temperatures, pressure, hydrogen or radiation, fiber lasers, fiber amplifiers, current sensors, other sensors including discrete and distributed, telecommunications components and other medical, government and research applications.  These in turn serve a number of industries, including government defence and aerospace, telecoms , oil and gas, medical, energy, academic and research.  The group’s operations are headquartered at Fibercore House, a custom built, Southampton based facility.
-          Visit Fibercore at: www.fibercore.com
-          Twitter: @Fibercore1
-          Fibercore Blog: www.fibercore.blogspot.com
-          Contact: +44 (0)2380 769893
-          Email: info@fibercore.com


H.I.G. Capital is a leading global private equity investment firm, with more than €8.5 billion of equity capital under management and a team of more than 225 investment professionals.  Based in Miami, H.I.G Capital has U.S. offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York, and San Francisco, as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Paris and Rio de Janeiro.  H.I.G. specializes in providing capital to small and medium sized companies with attractive growth potential.  H.I.G. invests in management-led buyouts and recapitalizations of profitable, well managed manufacturing or service businesses.  H.I.G. also has experience with financial restructurings and operational turnarounds.  Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. invested in and managed more than 200 companies worldwide.  The firm’s current portfolio includes more than 80 companies, with combined revenues in excess of €12 billion.  For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.



Monday 26 November 2012

Specialty Fibers for Harsh Environments


Those that attended the FOHEC Conference last week will be aware of the buzz that was created around the use of specialty optical fibers in aeronautics, space and other harsh environments.  As well as meeting old colleagues, it was a welcome opportunity to meet other people in the industry to discuss the future of optical fibers.

Much talk was made of the transition from traditional copper cables to the new exciting world of optical fibers, modernising the communication methods on board aeroplanes to accommodate the increased demand for video and data capabilities expected by the average traveller.  However, communications does not just cover the fiber that conveys the data to the user, but uses many different components throughout the systems, and the increased use of satellites in space present some particularly challenging questions.  Fibercore addressed these problems over ten years ago by developing radiation tolerant versions of their bend-insensitive HiBi polarization maintaining fiber for use in the gyroscopes required by space applications and Dr Andy Gillooly discussed these fibers and the findings of our research during the first of our three presentations at the Symposium. The white paper has since been published on the Fibercore website.  The effects of radiation on erbium doped fibers is also a major consideration for communication satellites and Fibercore is looking into the problems that this causes to understand ways of addressing this in the future.

For those that are used to dealing with sturdy copper cables, it is difficult to see the glass fibers as being anything other than fragile and difficult to handle. However, in reality these fibers are more flexible than the old cables and incredibly strong, particularly when the reduced-clad 80µm and even 50µm diameter fibers are chosen.  Dr Chris Emslie was able to demonstrate and discuss this in our second presentation of the show, illustrating the physical characteristics by twisting and pulling the fiber samples that he brought with him whilst explaining the lifetime expectations during his presentation.  A copy of his white paper is also available if you would like to read more. 

Communications was not the only topic of discussion.  With the recognition of the benefits of optical fibers, comes more demand for their use in different marketplaces and applications.  Telecommunications fibers are great for the transmission of data but are limited in their use outside of this area, and this is where the specialty fibers of Fibercore come into their own.  By offering greater photosensitivity and significantly lower bend-induced loss, the results they offer for sensor applications is far superior to standard 125µm telecom fibers, and above even the new range of enhanced telecom fibers, and José Alvarez explained why this is so in the third and final Fibercore presentation of the event. His white paper compares the bend-insensitivity and life-time expectation of our specialty optical fibers against both the SMF28 type and new enhanced fibers for telecommunications, incorporating information on the various coating options that are available for different operating environments.

So the journey for specialty optical fibers goes on, and new challenges continue to present themselves. Fibercore has been at the cutting edge of development for over thirty years and our team looks forward to the next chapter with some excitement, ready to use their expertise and knowledge to address the questions and provide new solutions. 

For more information visit our website at www.fibercore.com or contact our sales team at sales@fibercore.com.

Friday 9 November 2012

Optical Fibers for Harsh Environments


There is excitement at Fibercore as we prepare for the forthcoming FOHEC show in Swindon in a few days’ time.  This is the fourth FOHEC show concentrating on innovations, current applications and best practices in harsh environment applications and we are looking forward to sharing our expertise and discussing other innovations with our colleagues in these marketplaces.

Variants of our World-leading HiBi PM fibres have been specifically designed for operating in space for over a decade and can be found in applications from sensing satellites to the Mars Curiosity Rover.  During this time we have discovered what changes are necessary for our standard fibres to ensure that they are able to withstand the extra stresses, such as radiation, that the space environment presents.  Dr Andy Gillooly will be sharing our findings with his audience during his presentation, Radiation Tolerant Fibres for Harsh Environments, on Tuesday 20th November 2012.

Harsh environments are not only restricted to outer space, as you know, but can be found in many situations back here on Earth.  During the 30 years that Fibercore has devoted to the design and innovations in optical fibre technology, we have investigated the benefits of smaller diameter fibres on life-time and bend insensitivity, and Dr Chris Emslie will be discussing these in his presentation, Low-Profile Optical Fibers in Harsh Environments, later in the same day.

Bend-Induced attenuation is especially important for fibres in sensing technology and our 80µm singlemode optical fibers have been designed to offer the optimum performance, with the advantage of a variety of NAs and MFDs to choose from to suit individual applications. The benefits of these fibres, when compared with standard telecommunication fibers, are considerable and José Maria Alvarez will be discussing these in his presentation, ‘Key Advantages of Bend-Insensitive Specialty Fibres vs Telecoms Fibres for Harsh Environment Applications’, on Wednesday 21 November.

Different environments present different problems, and Fibercore are constantly working on ways to overcome these.  FOHEC offers us the opportunity to discuss our solutions using higher temperature coatings, with polyimide and high-temperature acrylates, and radiation tolerant versions of our fibres, with other experts in the field.  If you are attending the show, come along to our tabletop in the GWR Steam Museum where we will available to discuss these problems and our solutions with you. 

Tuesday 25 September 2012

New Marketing Positions at Fibercore Ltd

Following our divestiture from the Cisco group, and the very successful completion of Fibercore's first full year as an Independent Company, we are expanding our Sales and Marketing Department and are recruiting for the following two new posts:

Company Marketing Executive

An exciting opening has been created for an experienced marketer to join Fibercore Limited in the new role of Company Marketing Executive.  Although the position will be supported by a full-time Marketing Assistant, this is a very hands-on role that will give you the opportunity to lead a major re-branding exercise and to develop the new marketing strategies, particularly within the digital sphere, that will spearhead Fibercore's plans for strong and continued business growth.  Reporting directly to the Chief Executive, the successful candidate is likely to be degree-qualified, with relevant post-graduate qualifications in marketing and/or business.  A born communicator, you will also have a strong awareness of and affinity for Science and Technology and the proven ability to create a broad range of high-quality, technical marketing collateral.  Experience of managing external agencies (Creative, PR, etc), websites and CRM databases, and the organisation of international tradeshows and events are also essential - as is a true passion for Marketing.  The position carries a competitive salary and an exceptional benefits package.

Marketing Assistant

The expansion of Marketing at Fibercore has created a rare opportunity for a recently-qualified marketing professional to gain international experience across a broad spectrum of both traditional and digital marketing activities.  Reporting to the Company Marketing Executive, you will assist in a major, re-branding project encompassing the build of a new website, creation of new literature, development of a digital strategy and all associated communications.  Day-to-day activities will include helping in all aspects of the organisation of international trade-shows, from booking floor-space, organising hotel accommodation for attendees, through to pre- and post-show promotion, participation in lead-generation activities, management of the CRM and updating of the website.  You will most likely be educated to degree level with a professional qualification in marketing or business.  You will also be able to demonstrate a strong interest in Science and Technology and the ability to understand and communicate complex concepts in a clear and simple manner.  The position carries a competitive salary and an exceptional benefits package.


Fibercore Limited is a market leader in the field of 'Specialty' Optical Fibers.  Originally a technology spin-out from the University of Southampton, now celebrating its 30th year in business, the Company exports over 95% of its production to around 50 countries Worldwide.  Its innovative products are used in a diverse range of industrial sectors including Aerospace, Telecommunications, Energy and Fundamental Research - and have been deployed quite literally from Southampton to Mars!  Growing demands and ambitions for growth mean that we need exceptional individuals to head up and assist in formalising Communications and lead-generation.  If this sounds like you - then Fibercore Ltd wants to hear from you.

To apply for either position, send your cv and covering letter to: HR@fibercore.com or write to:
Human Resource, Fibercore Ltd, Fibercore House, University Parkway, Southampton Science Park, Hampshire SO15 7QQ

Applicants only - No agencies please !

Monday 17 September 2012

Inertial Sensors and Systems - Symposium Gyro Technology 2012

HiBi Single Polarizing HB-Z Zing™ Fibers for Fiber Optic Gyroscopes

0930 hrs Day 2: Wednesday 19 September 2012


Jose Alvarez will be discussing the use of HB-Z Zing™ fibers in FOGs in the second of our two papers at this Show.  Introduced in 2010, continual development now enables us to offer two new variants for operating at around 830 nm and 1310 nm, in addition to the original HB1060Z . 

Abstract:
Over the last few years the Inertial Navigation System (INS) industry has experienced an increasing demand in the accuracy of the gyroscopes for new military, space and civil applications. In this sense, setting and controlling the polarization state of the light launched into the fiber coil is a critical issue when designing a high precision Fiber Optic Gyroscope (FOG).

Traditionally, LiNbO3 multi-funtional integrated optical chips (MIOCs) have included the polarizing functionality in the gyro along with the splitter and the modulator, with different results in performance, cost and resilience.  The complexity of including the MIOC in the FOG design, and its high impact in the total cost of the gyroscopes, have created many problems to the FOG manufacturers. To support the industry, Fibercore have designed a new range of polarizing Zing™ fibers that will bring an all-fiber passive solution to this problem in terms of reduced cost, compact packaging, low insertion losses, power consumption, reliability, etc. 

A polarizing fiber guides the light in just one axis of the transmitted mode, cancelling the orthogonal degenerated mode by means of bending losses due to its extremely high birefingence levels.  This high birefringence (represented by a beat-length of about 0.6 mm @ 633 nm) creates a different refractive index and therefore a different propagation constant for the light traveling on both fast (lower refractive index) and slow (higher refractive index) axis. Therefore the bend edge of both axes will be clearly separated and, at some point, the fiber will guide the light in just one of the axes allowing for a stable single polarizing window of 100 nm - 200 nm with higher than 30 dB PER levels. To encourage this behaviour, the fiber will operate far away from the cut-off region and the initial NA of the fiber will be as low as possible so the polarizing effect is much more noticeable.

A theorectical explanation, based on the bending loss equation, of the basic operation and design principles of these fibers will be given in the paper.  The benefits of an all-fiber solution over other alternative technologies will be discussed along with significant experimental results showing the performance of the Zing™ fibers under different deployment and system conditions.

Monday 10 September 2012

Inertial Sensors and Systems - Symposium Gyro Technology 2012

Radiation Tolerant Optical Fibers for Fiber Optic Gyroscopes

1600 hrs Day 1: Tuesday 18 September 2012

Fibercore Ltd has long been associated with fibers for FOG applications and our fibers are used in many different environments, each environment presenting its own unique challenge.  In the first of our two presentations at this year's Symposium in Karlsruhe, Dr Andy Gillooly will be discussing the challenges that space applications present and how they are overcome. 

 Abstract:
The application space for Fiber Optic Gyroscopes (FOGs) has been constantly growing with many applications in ground based vehicles, marine and aerospace sectors. As the FOG technology matures and gains better acceptance the use of FOGs in high value projects, such as satellites, continues to grow.  TV channel broadcasting drives the growth of the satellite industry and with momentum behind the lower cost micro-satellites there will be many new opportunities for the inclusion of FOGs into future satellite projects.

For most FOG fiber coils, polarization maintaing (PM) highly birefringent fibers are used which have an inner cladding region made from phosphorus doped silica.  The addition of phosphorus into the inner cladding aids the manufacturing process and is suitable for most terrestial applications. However with exposure to radiation, the phosphorus causes the attenuation of the fiber to increase.  The rate of attenuation increase is relative to the radiation dose and the operating state of the fiber.  Therefore PM optical fibers which are to be used in space applications or other applications that require radiation resistance need to be designed without phosphorous.

The effect of radiation on erbium doped fibers will also be discussed to give a balanced view on the possibility of using erbium doped fibers as ASE light sources for FOGs in radiation environments.  The radiation causes a change in the spectral response that is not constant over the full spectral range of the absorption and emission of the erbium doped fiber.  The level of spectral change is relative to the type and concentration of dopants used within the fiber, giving significant constraints in the ability to design an erbium doped fiber suitable for space applications.

The theory will be analysed and discussed and experimental results will be shown comparing the performance of phosphorus doped and phosphorus free PM fibers before and after exposure to radiation and the effects on erbium doped fibers will also be measured and discussed.

Tuesday 21 August 2012

Romsey and Southampton North MP, Caroline Nokes, Visits Southampton technology Company Fibercore

Visit to Celebrate 30 years of Success for Optical Fiber Manufacturer and Hear About Company's Growth and Future Technology Development Plans

Fibercore, a UK based global market leader in the design and manufacture of specialty optical fibers, has announced today that Romsey and Southampton North MP, Caroline Nokes, recently visited the company's HQ at Fibercore House on the University of Southampton Science Park, to help the company celebrate 30 years in innovation and to hear about the company's new growth and technology development plans.

Established in 1982, Fibercore was formed as a spin-out from the world-renowned Optical Fiber Group of the University of Southampton, to offer the specialty optical fibers developed at the University, commercially. Today, Fibercore products are used in an incredibly broad range of applications spread throughout more than 50 countries including fiber optic gyroscopes (FOGs), fiber optic hydrophones, fiber lasers, fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), embedded sensors, specialist medical, government and corporate research agencies and telecommunications components.

Ms Nokes was given a tour of Fibercore's manufacturing facilities designed solely and specifically for the development and volume manufacture of specialty optical fibers. Its state-of-the-art Class 10000 cleanroom facilities were opened in 2003 and, since then, its loading dock has shipped more than 80,000,000 m of polarization-maintaining, bend-insensitive singlemode, photosensitive, rare-earth doped and cladding-pump fiber across the globe.

Caroline Nokes, MP, said, 'I was delighted to meet with Chris and his team. Fibercore is an impressive success story for the region and it was great to hear about the company's growth plans and to learn more about the exciting future of specialty fiber.  Southampton is a flourishing centre of enterprise for technology companies, with academia and private companies working together to commercialise innovative products.'
The total shipment of fiber from Fibercore House now averages more than 1,300,000 m per month - a figure believed to be higher than that of any other 'specialty' fiber manufacturer anywhere in the world and providing Fibercore with unmatched experience in the volume manufacture of highly-specified 'Specialty' fiber.

Fibercore's Managing Director, Dr Chris Emslie, said 'We are proud to be a success story for Southampton.  Having commercialised the pioneering technology developed at the University of Southampton, over thirty years ago, Fibercore products are now shipped to over 50 countries.  We have seen consistent growth for well over a decade and are always looking to further expand our product range and to work in partnership with our customers to enhance our fibers for their specific requirements. Augmenting our already impressive engineering credentials with New Blood will enable us to continue to deliver on our commitment to support our customers with world-class products and customer service across the globe.'

Tuesday 17 July 2012

Inertial Sensors and Systems - Symposium Gyro Tecnology 2012

18-19 September 2012

This annual symposium continues to bring together experts and specialists in the Gyroscope field, expanding this year to include inertial sensors and systems.

Fibercore are pleased to announce that we will be presenting two papers at this year’s show:  ‘Radiant Tolerant Optical Fibers for Fiber Optic Gyroscopes’ and ‘HiBi Single Polarizing HB-Z Zing™ Fibers for Fiber Optic Gyroscopes’

With the increasing use of satellites for communication and broadcasting projects, Fiber Optic Gyroscopes (FOGs) are being used more and more in outer space, increasing the need for radiation tolerant fibers. In the first of these papers, 'Radiation Tolerant Optical Fibers for FOGs', Dr Andy Gillooly will be discussing the effect of radiation on specialty optical fibers and how this can be controlled.  As well as considering the polarization maintaining highly birefringent fibers that are used in FOGs, he will be talking about the effect that radiation has on erbium-doped fibers used for ASE light sources.

The second of our papers, 'HiBi Single Polarizing HB-Z Fibers for FOGs', will be presented by José
Maria Alvarez who will explain the theoretical basic principles behind our Bow-Tie polarizing fibers.  Jose will compare the economic and technical benefits of this all-fiber polarizing solution against the non-fiber integrated solutions that are currently used in the industry, completing the presentation with experimental results and measurements showing the polarizing capability of the fiber under different deployment conditions and at different wavelengths.

2012 will be the 6th year for the Symposium and a full programme is now available.  Further details of our two presentations will be available nearer the date.

Thursday 28 June 2012

Fibercore Ltd at OSA Advanced Photonics, Colorado Springs

Our attendance at small specialist shows provides us with an opportunity to focus our attention on a technical level with experts in our marketplaces – and the Advanced Photonic Congress in Colorado Springs last week was no exception.
With the attendance of Engineers from Universities, Research Groups and R&D departments of major international companies, Dr Andy Gillooly and Ellen Landis were able to discuss the technical benefits and specifications of our fibers with scientists and engineers working on the latest projects. 
Fiber Bragg Gratings were a particular focus of the Meeting and Andy’s expertise in the field enabled him to discuss our photosensitive singlemode fibers for sensor applications, introducing our polyimide coated bend-insensitive fibers for the harsh environments of oil and gas sensing.  His extensive knowledge and experience in laser applications also enabled him to discuss our fibers in detail in this advancing technology.
Other topics covered by Ellen, using her extensive experience of the specialty optical fiber market, and Andy included erbium-doped fibers in EDFAs for telecommunications and various fibers for bio-photonics, as well as discussions around applications for our new HiBi Spun fiber.
For all those that came to our booth, it was a pleasure to discuss your application and our fibers with you and we will be in touch very shortly with the information that you require.  If you were unable to attend the meeting and would like to know more about how our fibers can help your project, email us at sales@fibercore.com and one of us will get in touch with you as quickly as we can.

Friday 15 June 2012

Join Fibercore at OSA's Advanced Photonics Congress in Colorado Springs

17th June - 21st June 2012

Cheyenne Mountain Resort

Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

Fibercore Ltd will be marking their 30th year as specialty fiber development and production experts, by exhibiting at the OSA Advanced Photonics Congress, where we will be talking about our vast array of fiber products and their outstanding versatility and performance.

To maintain a leading position within a technically demanding marketplace requires a unique combination of customer focus, quality and product performance.  Fibercore's fiber experts look forward to working with you to develop a true customer partnership, delivering quantifiable value that goes well beyond the product itself.

Of particular interest at our booth will be Fiber Bragg Gratings and how Fibercore's PS series of fibers can help.  With a high-germania and boron-co-doped core composition that enables high-reflectivity gratings to be written without the need to hydrogen-load, the Mode Field Diameters of Fibercore PS Series fibers have also been engineered so that gratings can be spliced into standard telecommunications or pigtailing fibers with minimal excess loss.  Alternatively, if bend-insensitivity is important for your project, our high-germania, low-attenuation, specialty singlemode fibers offer significantly higher photosensitivity than standard telecommunications fibers allowing long arrays to be written with our without hydrogen loading.

Dr Andy Gillooly has a PhD in Fiber Bragg Gratings and will be available to answer all your FBG questions on our booth.  Both he and Ellen Landis, our Director of Sales for North America, will also be talking about how Fibercore's precision products can be used in the harshest of conditions, such as our polyimide-coated high NA fibers, which are being used for monitoring deep-sea oil reserves - where extreme accuracy is paramount in one of the most challenging of all conditions imaginable.

We look forward to seeing you at the conference and talking about your individual fiber needs.  But if you are unable to attend, please contact us directly on +44 (0)23 8076 9893 or email us at sales@fibercore.com.  We are always very happy to discuss your fiber frequirements and to offer free expert advice on the use of specialty fibers in your products or projects, drawing on over three decades of experience and knowledge.

Friday 4 May 2012

Specialty Optical Fiber Design for Commercial Intrinsic Fiber Sensors

Your opportunity to read the paper presented by Dr Chris Emslie at the SPIE Defense, Security & Sensing Conference in Baltimore on Friday 27th April.

Below is the introduction to Chris' White Paper, the full copy can be downloaded from our website.
After 30 years of promise, and in some cases one or more false-starts, intrinsic fiber sensors based on 'Specialty' optical fibers are at last becoming a genuine, commercial reality.  The first sensor to achieve this status is undoubtedly the fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) which has grown steadily in volume over the past decade and has now gained widespread acceptance as a high reliability alternative to both conventional, spinning-mass and also ring-laser gyroscopes.  FOG is now being joined by both current-sensors and sensors for a broad-range of measureands, based on well-established acoustic, seismic and non-linear scattering techniques, primarily for oil-extraction and civil engineering.  It is safe to say that this 30 year gestation has proved far longer than anyone had either expected or hoped.  However, scientists and engineers should take some comfort that this delay owes little, if anything, to the strength or state of the underlying technology.
Fiber Hydrophone Schematic
In some cases, for example FOG, the root-cause lies in the conservatism of a customer base dominated by Defence and Aerospace that necessarily views 'new' technologies as un-tested and therefore potentially unreliable.  In others, product development has been slowed by significant and global skills shortages, when one project has taken clear precedent over another - a phenomenon that led to the commercialisation of the erbium doped fiber amplifier an entire decade before the fiber laser.  In others still, such as fiber optic current sensors and hydrophones, the market simply has not been ready - either because existing technologies fulfilled the current need, or were too well-entrenched for easy (or willing) substitution.  Although the road to commercial acceptance has been a long and difficult one, the path has been eased significantly by the availability of 'Specialty Fibers' either adapted, or designed specifically for sensors.  This paper identifies seven principal fiber design considerations, bend-insensitivity, jointing characteristics, reliability, birefringence and mechanical stiffness and references their significance in the context of three types of fiber sensor that have either achieved, or are close to achieving commercial accpetance:  FOG, acoustic and seismic sensors and current-sensors.
Copies of the presentation are available by contacting info@fibercore.com.

Friday 20 April 2012

Fibercore attending SPIE Defense, Security & Sensing 2012

Fibercore Ltd are looking forward to participating in the forthcoming SPIE Defense, Security and Sensing 2012 conference which will be held in Baltimore between 23-27 April 2012.

The show provides the opportunity for us to present our range of reduced-clad HiBi fibers for the gyroscope market together with the complementary products that we offer to support these PM fibers for FOGs. Fibercore Ltd have sold more than 80,000 km of Bow-Tie fiber into the marketplace since it was introduced in 1983, more than enough to wrap twice around the Equator, and ships around 1.3 million additional meters each month to FOG manufacturers all around the World. We believe this figure is higher than that of any other ‘specialty’ fiber manufacture, making us the market-leader of fiber into the FOG marketplace.

The depth of experience and knowledge of our team of engineers, some with more than 20 years’ experience working with specialty optical fibers, enables us to support our customers by working closely with them to ensure that our fiber provides the optimum performance that each of their products demand. As a result, The HB-G fiber is available with a wide range of options including high NA, short beatlengths and radiation tolerant versions to cover as many requirements as possible, and if we you require something a little more special, we will be pleased to discuss it with you.

Ellen Landis, our Director of Sales for North America, will be attending the Tabletop 627 to welcome your enquiries if you are attending the Show. Dr Chris Emslie will also be available towards the end of the week and will be giving a presentation on ‘Specialty Fiber Design for Commercial, Intrinsic Fiber Sensors’ on Friday 27th April at 10.30am.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Monday 5 March 2012

Fibercore's 30th Birthday celebrations at OFC/NFOEC 2012






Fibercore Ltd will, once again, be exhibiting at OFC 2012 where we will be showcasing our range of fiber products and services. Our Sales Team, consisting of Dr Andy Gillooly, Jose Maria Alvarez and Ellen Landis, together with Dr Chris Emslie, will be available on our booth 1910 to discuss our specialty optical fibers and the technical services that Fibercore Ltd can offer for your applications.


In addition, we will be taking part in the FTTx Resource Center where you will be able to find out about our revolutionary CP1500Y dual-clad cladding-pump fiber for CATV and FTTx amplifier applications, together with our IsoGain™ and MetroGain™ erbium doped fibers for C and L amplifiers and ASE applications.


Fibercore Ltd started its life in 1982 as a Spin-out from the World-renowned Optical Fiber Group of the University of Southampton (UK). Its role was to commercialise the innovations in specialty optical fibers developed at Southampton and this is exactly what we have done over the last 30 years, introducing fibers like the HiBi bow-tie PM fibers, our erbium-doped and cladding-pump fibers, our specialty singlemode fibers (now with the added protection of polyimide-coating), photosensitive fibers, and other rare-earth doped and co-doped fibers to name just a few. As well as celebrating 30 years at the forefront of the photonics specialty fiber industry, we are also celebrating our independence following the recent divestiture from Cisco.


If you are attending OFC, come along to the stand to find out more - and join in our Birthday celebrations on Tuesday afternoon where we will be sharing cupcakes and coffee with our guests.

Thursday 1 March 2012

Happy 30th Birthday, Fibercore Ltd

Fibercore Ltd started its life in 1982 as a Spin-out from the World-renowned Optical Fiber Group of the University of Southampton (UK). Its role was to commercialise the innovations in specialty optical fibers developed at Southampton. Beginning in 1982 with a spun Lo-Bi fiber developed for Faraday-effect current-sensors and with the now World-famous HiBi Bow-Tie Polarization Maintaining Fiber following very soon afterwards, Fibercore has introduced a continuous stream of innovative specialty fibers over the last three decades:


1982 Spun Low-Birefringence Fiber
1983 Bow-Tie Polarization Maintaining Fiber
1986 'Zing' Polarizing Fiber
1987 Neodymium Doped Fiber
1988 Erbium Doped Fiber
1989 Spun Bow-Tie, Elliptically-Birefringent Fiber
1993 Erbium-Ytterbium Co-Doped Fiber
1998 Intrinsically Photosensitive Boron Co-Doped Fiber
1999 Pure-Silica, 'Cladding Pump' Rare-Earth Doped Fiber
2002 50 µm, Low-Loss and Highly Bend-Insensitive SM Fiber
2009 Pure-Silica core SM Fiber for use in UV
2010 Re-introduction of improved Polarizing Fiber
2012 Re-introduction of improved Spun Bow-Tie, Elliptically-Birefringent Fiber



The reality is that Fibercore was active in the Specialty Optical Fiber Market long before that market really existed, introducing many products well before their 'time' - as testified by the recent re-introduction of both Zing Polarizing Fiber and Spun Bow-Tie, which now benefit from both growing markets and a further 20 years of development of the underlying technology.




Its recent divestiture from Cisco means that Fibercore starts its third decade as an Independent Company, with the freedom to really push forward the boundaries of the technologies that truly benefit its customers in Aerospace, Metrology, Telecoms Components, Defense, Fundamental Research ..., making full use of the expertise and experience that Fibercore has been known for since the very beginning. Fibercore's team of seasoned Specialty Fiber Professionals, with a 'core' that has remained with the Company since the 1990s and with some members offering more than 25 years of high-level experience in the Industry, ensure that we deliver a level of customer service and both pre- and post-sale technical support that is second to none.
Our fibers are used in an incredibly broad range of applications spread throughout more than 50 countries around the Globe including fiber optic gyroscopes (FOGs), fiber optic hydrophones, fiber lasers, fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), embedded sensors, specialist medical, government and corporate research agencies and telecommunications components.




Throughout our 30 year history, we have had the privilege to track and support many of our customers from their earliest research, right through to the high-volume, but still 'specialised' manufacturing that now makes up 90% of our business. This breadth of experience, together with our singularity of purpose and diversity of our customer base enabled us to continue to grow and prosper, throughout both the Telecoms Crash of 2001 and the Credit Crunch that began in 2007 and is still with us to this day.




The move to Fibercore House, the Company's purpose-designed R&D and Manufacturing Facility, in 2003 increased our manufacturing capabilities ten-fold and enabled us to introduce 'World-Class Manufacturing' philosophies to what was traditionally viewed as a scaled-up laboratory process. The total shipments of fiber from Fibercore House now average more that 1,300,000 m per month - a figure believed to be higher than that of any other 'specialty' fiber manufacturer anywhere in the World and providing Fibercore Limited with unmatched experience in the volume manufacture of highly-specified 'Specialty' Fiber. The Company's current share of the PM fiber for gyroscopes market is estimated to be in excess of 95%, with major OEMs in the United States, France, Germany, Korea, Italy and Japan.




Alongside the development of new technology, Fibercore has been the forerunner for companies in the industry to gain formal, third-part certification for its business processes, achieving ISO9001 (Quality) in 1993 and applying Telcordia™ (Bellcore) reliability testing to all of its product lines since 2000. More recently, these standards have been joined by ISO14001 (Environment) and OHSAS18001 (Health and Safety) certification and we ensure that all products comply with RoHS and REACH requirements.




In 2001 the Company was presented with the Queen's Award for Enterprise: International Trade (the UK's highest business honour) and was assessed to be the Country's most successful manufacturing business by the presigious Experian Survey. Since then the Company has been awarded three additional Queen's Awards for Enterprise: Innovation in 2004, and both International Trade and Sustainable Development in 2007, making Fibercore Limited the only company ever to have won these awards in all three categories.




The recent expansion of the Development Team and the introduction of new photonics engineers into our skill base enables us to continue our commitment to the future of the specialist fiber industry. With the renewed interest in current sensors, development is well underway on the new 'Spun' fiber and recent improvements to our already established IsoGain™ erbium doped amplifier fiber have strengthened our position in the amplifier marketplace. All this means that Fibercore goes from strength to strength, and we will continue to support our customers and the industry for the next 30 years, and beyond.

Friday 20 January 2012

Photonics West 2012 Product Presentation by Dr Andy Gillooly: RGB - UV Fibers

Broadband Fibers for use at 305 nm - 450 nm and 450 nm - 800 nm




With the growing use of fibers in Medical and Spectroscopy applications, the need to transmit red, green and blue light down a single fiber is an increasingly important requirement.


The broadband performance of the Fibercore SM450 specialty singlemode fiber is perfect for these applications where the high NA insures that, even with the fiber coiled, bend-losses are kept to a minimum across the full broadband range, from 450 nm to 800 nm. The all-silica SM300-SC and SM400-SC fibers extend the wavelength range into the UV and are ideal for use from 305 nm to 450 nm, where the absense of Germania in their core significantly reduces photodarkening at blue and UV wavelengths.





Our second presentation at this year's Photonics West Exhibition in San Francisco will be showcasing these fibers, so if you are attending the show and want to know more, then come along to North Hall D, Demo Area 2, at 4.30 pm on Tuesday 24th January 2012 where Dr Andy Gillooly will introduce the fibers to you. Alternatively, visit our website at http://www.fibercore.com/

Friday 13 January 2012

Photonics West 2012 Product Presentation by Dr Andy Gillooly: SM-P Polyimide Coated SM Fibers

New Polyimide Coated Singlemode Fiber for Embedded and High Temperature Applications


Optical fiber sensors have been widely adopted into a range of sensing technologies including discrete and continuous temperature, pressure and strain sensors often used in relatively benign environments. Typically these sensors have been used in pipeline monitoring, perimeter monitoring, heat detection and structural monitoring systems, all of which operate within the -45 degrees C to +85 degrees C temperature range of a standard optical fiber.


As industries push their sensing requirements into the high temperature environments in oil wells and nuclear reactors or into the tight coil requirements for hydrophones and seismic sensing geophones, optical fibers start to offer major technical benefits over electronic sensors. Fibers can be designed to tolerature the high temperatures and pressures found in oil wells, they can be radiation tolerant for nuclear environments, are immune to the high levels of electro-magnetic interference (EMI) associated with large industrial machinery and they do not require electrical power at the sensing element - particularly important for subsea reliability.


Extracting oil and gas from wells has become increasingly difficult and fiber sensors are being used more and more to enhance oil recover. The downhole environment of this industry is extremely aggressive with temperatures exceeding 300 degrees C and, whilst a high temperature acrylate coating can be used for applications working at around 150 degrees C, demand a fiber with a high-performance coating.


Fibercore's high NA, bend-insensitive specialty singlemode fibers are already widely used in sensor application all over the world and we have built on this technology to offer a new range of polyimide coated, bend-insensitive singlemode fiber, specifically designed for the seismic sensors and distributed sensors used in these highly challenging environments of the oil and gas explorations industries and other similar industries. Using the polyimide coating of our HB-P polarization maintaining fibers, these singlemode fibers offer the same bend insensitivity and photosensitivity of our high NA SM fibers with the added advantage of being able to withstand short-term temperatures as high as 400 degrees C (and 300 degrees C continuous).


Our first Product Presentation at this year's Photonics West Exhibition in San Francisco will be showcasing this new range of fibers, so if you are attending the show and want to know more, then come along to North Hall D, Demo Area 2, at 11.30am on Tuesday 24th January where Dr Andy Gillooly will introduce the fibers to you. Alternatively, visit our website, http://www.fibercore.com/, to obtain details and download our white paper.

Monday 9 January 2012

Photonics West 2012












With Photonics West 2012 just two weeks away, Fibercore Ltd are pleased to announce that, once again, we will be exhibiting at this, the World's largest photonics and laser event. As well as being available to discuss the wide variety of specialty singlemode fibers that we offer, ranging from the World famous and market leading reduced-clad HiBi PM fibers to our all-glass Er/Yb co-doped dual-clad cladding pump fiber for high power amplifiers, Dr Andy Gillooly will be making two presentations during the event to highlight our recent product additions to our specialty singlemode fiber ranges.


Our first presentation announces the arrival of a new range of polyimide-coated singlemode fibers designed for embedded and high-temperature applications. Based on our SM1500 fibers, they combine the bend-insensitivity and intrinsic photosensitivity of these high NA singlemode fibers with the polyimide-coating of our HB-P fibers, enabling them to withstand temperatures as high as 400 degrees C (or 300 degrees C continuous), and making them ideal for the highly challenging environments of industries like oil and gas explorations.



The design wavelengths of the fibers in our specialty singlemode fiber range start as short as 450nm for tranmission in the UV to the Red range, and our all-silica SM-SC fibers offer even shorter wavelengths of 300nm to 400nm. Our second presentation concentrates on these R(ed), G(reen),B(lue) fibers and their use in spectroscopy, biotechnology and LDA applications.



So if you would like to know more about our fibers and how they can help your applications, visit us at Photonics West 2012 Booth 4926, which will take place at the Moscone Center, San Francisco, from 24th to 26th January 2012.