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The history of OFS Laboratories dates back to the early days of
optical fiber communication, and through its corporate heritage,
to the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell.
Starting with the invention of MCVD (modified chemical vapor
deposition), the entire technology for preform fabrication, fiber
draw and fiber design and characterization were developed within
the Bell Labs research group and moved into manufacturing in
Norcross, Georgia, U.S.A. The origins of fiber manufacture - and
the very foundation of OFS - can be traced directly back to the
group.
Today, OFS Laboratories is staffed with many former Bell Labs
scientists and engineers. The current staff participated directly
in many of the exceptional innovations mentioned below - and some
served under mentors who pioneered fiber optics decades ago.
When Furukawa acquired OFS from Lucent Technologies, scientists
brought more than their Bell Labs heritage to OFS Laboratories.
They also brought a substantial base of intellectual property
representing the full gamut of optical technologies. We continue
to build on that asset and now hold more than 600 domestic and
foreign patents. Many of these patents have had a substantial
impact on worldwide applications of optical technologies.
Lighting the way to optical communications
Innovations from OFS Laboratories and our corporate ancestors
| 2001 |
UltraWave™ Fiber: First ocean-matched fibers |
| 2001 |
First fully-compensated, Raman-ready, long- and ultra-long fiber |
| 2000 |
LaserWave™ Fiber: First 10 Gbs multimode fiber |
| 1999 |
TrueWave® SRS Fiber: First low-slope ocean fiber |
| 1999 |
First demonstration of ultra-dense WDM transmission of 1,022 channels on a single fiber |
| 1998 |
TrueWave® XL Fiber: First large area nonzero dispersion fiber (NZDF) ocean fiber |
| 1998 |
First optical channel monitor |
| 1998 |
TrueWave® RS Fiber: First NZDF for C&L bands |
| 1998 |
AllWave® Fiber: First zero water peak fiber |
| 1996 |
First 24-fiber ribbon cable (DuctSaver™+ Cable) |
| 1996 |
1585 WDM fiber: First ocean WDM fiber |
| 1995 |
First LC connector to make connecting fiber as easy as plugging in a telephone |
| 1994 |
1561 dispersion shifted fiber (DSF): First ocean high-speed fiber |
| 1993 |
First fiber designed for long-haul dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) |
| 1993 |
TrueWave® Fiber: First non-zero dispersion fiber (NZDF) |
| 1993 |
First Raman laser, which overcomes the adverse effects of frequency shifts in individual light streams |
| 1993 |
First attenuator and filter fibers for optical devices |
| 1992 |
First commercial Erbium doped fiber |
| 1987 |
First optical amplifier, initiating the DWDM revolution |
| 1984 |
First demonstration of laser transmission rates above one gigabit per second |
| 1982 |
Invention of plasma enhanced MCVD, enabling precise deposit of materials needed in a fiber's core |
| 1980 |
Fiber for the first long-haul backbone (Boston-to-Washington, D.C.) |
| 1979 |
Discovery of optical solitons |
| 1974 |
Invention of the modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) process for fabricating silica optical fibers |
| 1970 |
Invention of the distributed feedback (DFB) laser |
| 1969 |
First paper describing integrated optical service with planar waveguides formed by photolithography |
| 1960 |
Invention of the Helium-neon laser, the first continuous wave laser |
| 1958 |
Milestone paper on the principles of amplifying light -leading to the invention of the laser, the first light source powerful enough to transmit information. |
| 1940s |
Development of radar and microwave adsorption spectroscopy |
| 1930s |
Development of theories and components for millimeter waveguide transmission |
OFS History
The corporate culture of OFS today is rooted in the historic
achievements of Western Electric, AT&T, Bell Labs and Lucent
Technologies. For 12 decades, brilliant inventors and engineers
from these companies poured their creativity and ingenuity into
the OFS heritage.
The story begins in 1880
After inventing the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell built what he
believed was his greatest invention - the photophone. Patented in
1889, the world's first optical transmission system could transmit
voices over short distances using sunlight and a crude assortment
of mirrors and electric gadgetry.
However, the corporation Bell co-founded - the Bell Telephone
Company - remained focused on commercializing the telephone.
Although Albert Einstein foresaw laser technology in 1917, the
field of optical communications languished for decades.
How can light turn corners?
During the 1950s, scientists around the world were closing in on
the mysteries of lightwave communications - a technology with a
stunning array of applications still emerging today. Two problems
bedeviled them: How to get lightwaves to go around corners, and
how to create a reliable transmission path immune to adverse
weather conditions.
At Bell Labs, engineers knew that transparent rods of glass or
plastic could be stretched into long, flexible optical fibers.
These "waveguides" could solve the weather interference and
line-of-sight problems. The real challenge, though, was to design
a waveguide system that could carry lightwaves as economically as
copper transmits electrons.
The leap to lasers
A major breakthrough came in 1958, when two researchers associated
with Bell Labs published a paper on the principles of amplifying
light. Even before their patent was issued in 1960, the paper
triggered a gold rush of innovations related to the laser, the
first light source powerful enough to transmit information.
Looking back at that era, Scientific American noted, "Patent piled
on patent [as] Bell Labs and others churned out a stream of
innovations that continues unabated today."
Taking fiber to the marketplace
AT&T, Bell Labs and Lucent didn't stop at the patent office -
they pioneered the application of fiber optic technology to
real-world situations. A few examples of these milestones:
| 1977: |
field testing of the first commercial use of optical fiber, in a Chicago telephone system |
| 1980: |
construction of "the Northeast Corridor," a Bell-designed lightwave route from Boston to Washington, D.C. |
| 1987: |
manufacture of fiber for the first trans-Atlantic fiber optic cable |
| 1988: |
manufacture of fiber for the first trans-Pacific fiber optic cable |
| 1999: |
demonstration of ultra-dense WDM transmission of 1,022 channels on a single fiber |
OFS takes the reins
In the tradition of our predecessors, OFS and OFS Laboratories
will continue to shape the future of optical communications and
fiber optic technology. We don't know what the next 120 years will
bring, but we know this: We'll still be making waves.
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