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Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Aesthetically Enhanced Silica Aerogel Via Incorporation of Laser Etching and Dyes
Published on: March 12, 2021
Silica aerogel core waveguide
M D W Grogan1, S G Leon-Saval, R England
11Department of Physics, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.
Abstract:
We have selectively filled the core of hollow photonic crystal fibre with silica aerogel. Light is guided in the aerogel core, with a measured attenuation of 0.2 dB/cm at 1540 nm comparable to that of bulk aerogel. The structure guides light by different mechanisms depending on the wavelength. At long wavelengths the effective index of the microstructured cladding is below the aerogel index of 1.045 and guidance is by total internal reflection. At short wavelengths, where the effective cladding index exceeds 1.045, a photonic bandgap can guide the light instead. There is a small region of crossover, where both index- and bandgap-guided modes were simultaneously observed.
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