Optical Fiber refers to a thin, transparent strand of glass or plastic that is used to transmit information in the form of light pulses. Optical fibers are a key component of fiber optic communication systems, enabling the high-speed and high-capacity transmission of data over long distances. The core principle behind optical fibers is the phenomenon of total internal reflection, which allows light to be guided within the core of the fiber through multiple internal reflections.

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NEC Labs America Attends OFC 2025 in San Francisco

The NEC Labs America Optical Networking and Sensing team is attending the 2025 Optical Fiber Communications Conference and Exhibition (OFC), the premier global event for optical networking and communications. Bringing together over 13,500 attendees from 83+ countries, more than 670 exhibitors, and hundreds of sessions featuring industry leaders, OFC 2025 serves as the central hub for innovation and collaboration in the field. At this year’s conference, NEC Labs America will showcase its cutting-edge research and advancements through multiple presentations, demonstrations, and workshops.

Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing Using Specialty Optical Fibers

Distributed fiber optic sensing systems use long section of optical fiber as the sensing media. Therefore, the fiber characteristics determines the sensing capability and performance. In this presentation, various types of specialty optical fibers and their sensing applications will be introduced and discussed.

Employing Telecom Fiber Cables as Sensing Media for Road Traffic Applications

Distributed fiber optic sensing systems (DFOS) allow deployed fiber cables to be sensing media, not only dedicated function of data transmission. The fiber cable can monitor the ambient environment over wide area for many applications. We review recent field trial results, and show how artificial intelligence (AI) can help on the application of road traffic monitoring. The results show that fiber sensing can monitor the periodic traffic changes in hourly, daily, weekly and seasonal.