OFS | Your Optical
Fiber Solutions Partner
When most people hear the term & “fiber optics” they naturally envision hair-thin strands of glass, the enablers of today’s high speed telecommunication and global internet. While that’s all true, it’s really just the beginning where the technology of fiber optics is concerned. In the Specialty Photonics Division of OFS we work in a world that extends well beyond telecommunications.
At OFS we begin by listening to needs that our customers have. Bits per second, attenuation over distance…these all matter, but our sweet spot often centers on the harsh environmental conditions found in our customers challenging applications. Customarily we take a call, receive an email, meet at a trade show, and hear through social media of applications where our unique combinations of materials know-how and manufacturing technology converge to help solve real-world problems. At OFS we seek out the tricky problems then combine our people and capabilities in novel ways to create unique, technically advanced products.
We commonly field inquiries like:
- Do you make an optical fiber that operates above 200˚C?
- I have an application that needs a dielectric communication link that runs through harsh, aggressive, flammable chemicals. Do you have a solution for that?
- Can your fibers survive a three millimeter bend…while moving inside the human body?
- Can you provide a fiber that senses temperature and strain…in an aircraft wing?
- Do you make a fiber that can be wrapped around a mandrel hundreds of times with no increase in loss?
Often, when we host visits at OFS facilities, our customers are surprised by whom we are and what we do. Picture beehive-like activity with scientists scurrying about, facilities chock full of materials experts and engineers, applying an assortment of theoretical and practical knowledge in ceramics, polymers, physics, optics, mechanics, and manufacturing engineering to work solving tough problems in pragmatic ways.
Materials science is at our core, it’s what we do at OFS – we make optical fibers too.
If you have a vexing problem to solve in data transfer or sensing, send us an email or give us a call at (860) 678-0371. We’d love to hear of your needs and a practical solution may be closer than you think.
Written by,
Mike Hines