Exotic Optical Fibers and Glasses: Innovative Material Processing Opportunities in Earth's Orbit

Exotic optical fibers and glasses are the platform material for
photonics applications, primarily due to their superior signal
transmission (speed, low attenuation), with extending bandwidth
deep into the infrared, exceeding that of silica fibers. Gravitational
effects (convection sedimentation) have a direct impact
on the phase diagram of these materials and influence melting
properties, crystallization temperatures, and viscosity of the elemental
mix during the manufacturing process. Such factors
constitute limits to the yield, transmission quality, and strength
and value of these fibers; they also constrain the range of applications.
Manufacturing in a gravity-free environment such as
the Earth’s Orbit also helps with other aspects of the fabrication
process (i.e., improved form factor of the manufacturing unit,
sustainability). In this article, revolutionary developments in the
field of photonics over the past decade merge with the paradigm
shift in the privatization of government-owned capabilities
supporting a more diverse infrastructure (parabolic, suborbital,
orbital), reduced price, and increased frequency to access space
and the microgravity environment. With the increased dependence
on data (demand, bandwidth, efficiency), space and the
microgravity environment provide opportunities for optimized
performance of these exotic optical fibers and glasses underlying
the development of enabling technologies to meet future data
demand. Existing terrestrial markets (Internet, telecommunications,
market transactions) and emerging space markets (onorbit
satellite servicing, space manufacturing, space resources,
space communications, etc.) seem to converge, and this innovative
material processing opportunity of exotic optical fibers
and glasses might just be that ‘‘killer app’’: technologically
competitive, economically viable, and with the ability to close
the business case.