The Australian Photonic Cooperative Research Centre has made hollow Perspex optical fibres

The Australian Photonic Cooperative Research Centre has made hollow Perspex optical fibres

Scientists have developed ultrafine optical fibres that could improve medical imaging and produce computers that run on light. A team at the Australian Photonic Cooperative Research Centre has made hollow Perspex optical fibres a few times thicker than human hair.

The fibres are a tenth of the thickness of a normal endoscope and can penetrate awkward corners of the body with greater ease, safety and less inconvenience to the patient, according to APCRC. The fibre could also offer advances in computing speed and capacity, and improve the interface between computers and video.

APCRC team leader Dr Martijn van Eijkelenborg said the fibre was produced by drilling 100 or more holes in a 8cm-thick rod of Perspex that was heated and stretched to 400 metres long. This created an array of air channels along its length. A light signal is sent either down the channels or through the Perspex islands between the channels.

The channels in the fibre could be filled with air, liquid or gas to alter its transmission properties, Dr van Eijkelenborg said. He added polymer materials were ideal for the fibres since they are thicker than glass fibres but more flexible; fabrication methods allow full control over the positioning and sizing of the cores.