S

Silica (SiO₂) is pure silicon oxide, a refined type of sand or quartz. Silica fiber can be doped with a range of materials to alter its refractive index and absorption/emission properties, leading to many variations of fiber. It exhibits a lower attenuation across a wide wavelength region, in particular the C band, which is of interest to telecoms. This makes it an ideal material for fiber manufacture.

Related Terms: Fluorosilicate Glass, Germanosilicate Glass