Automated Laser Process Nabs £1m Prize For High-volume Production Of Hollow Fibers

Recently, Dr. Calum Ross, a research assistant at Heriot-Watt University in the United Kingdom, was awarded a prize of nearly 1 million pounds for the development of a laser-based process that can be used to mass-produce hollow fibers.
After two years of work, Dr. Calum Ross has reportedly succeeded in developing an automated process that makes the mass production of hollow optical fibers possible. This innovation will revolutionize the field of fiber optic communications, sensors and optical devices.
The award of almost £1 million comes from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Leaders Fellowships scheme, which recognizes and inspires outstanding researchers. As the UK's national funding body for investment in science and research, UKRI is committed to supporting innovation and excellence in research.
Industry partners in the program include BT, the UK's largest telecoms operator, and laser technology company Chromacity, notably spun out of Heriot-Watt University in 2013 and now a technology leader in its field. This collaboration not only demonstrates the strong potential of combining industry, academia and research, but also bodes well for the widespread use of laser technology in fiber optic manufacturing.
Hollow-core fiber accelerates data communication
With its unique central gas or vacuum structure, hollow-core optical fiber exhibits superior characteristics such as faster speed of light and lower sensitivity to environmental changes than traditional optical fiber. According to research, data transmitted over hollow-core fiber is up to 50% faster, and this innovative technology has attracted a number of companies, including BT, to trial it.
However, hollow fibers are still manufactured using a manual process that involves manually stacking the fiber system, which is a bottleneck that prevents their mass production.
Dr. Calum Ross' research funding will therefore be used to develop an automated laser-based process capable of producing fibers on a large scale, as well as any internal structure. Such "free-form" hollow fibers, capable of delivering much higher data transmission speeds than conventional optical fibers, have a wide range of applications in industries such as telecommunications, healthcare and manufacturing.
Calum Ross emphasizes, "For next-generation technologies in artificial intelligence and augmented reality, we need ultra-fast data transfer speeds to deliver applications in real time." To meet this need, tens of kilometers of low-cost optical fiber is required, which is not currently possible with the current manufacturing method of hollow fiber.
Calum Ross is confident that the system he is developing will disrupt traditional fiber optic manufacturing methods, and that hollow fiber will eventually completely replace traditional telecommunications networks in use around the world.
Future plans: developing innovative manufacturing processes
With funding from the British Institute, Calum Ross will be able to recruit a postdoctoral researcher and a group of PhD students. Over the course of the four-year project, the team will focus on developing innovative manufacturing processes and establishing a leading research group in the field of free-form optical fibers.
Notably, the Future Leaders Fellowship program offers an additional three-year extension option, providing strong support for the project's in-depth research and long-term development.