Scientists Embed Electronic Components Into Optical Fibers 34
An anonymous reader writes "Scientists at the Universities of Southampton and Penn State have found a way to embed electronic components into optical fibers, in a breakthrough that could lead to the creation of super high-speed telecommunications networks. Rather than trying to merge flat chips with round optical fibers, the team of scientists used high-pressure chemistry techniques to deposit semiconducting materials layer by layer directly into tiny holes in optical fibers. This bypasses the need to integrate fiber-optics onto a chip, and means that the data signal never has to leave the fiber."
All along the fiber, or just at the end? (Score:3, Insightful)
How much of the signal is "processed" (i.e. lost) by the electronics if they are sprinkled all through the fiber?
Interesting stuff.