Optical waveguide transmission

As optical communication systems are being studied in more detail, the need for many different types of optical waveguides becomes apparent. The applications range from miniature optical circuit connections to long-distance high-capacity transmission links. The requirements with respect to cost, attenuation, dispersion, or flexibility are vastly different. As different as the specifications are the guides evolving for various purposes. We describe the state of the art and give a survey of those guides which show the greatest future potential.