The development of fiber-optic technology was mainly driven by the requirement of the telecommunications industry. Nonetheless one should not overlook that telecommunications is not the only application of fiber optics. The other major application area is in metrology and data acquisition.
Photonic is defined as the generation, manipulation, transport, detection, and use of light information and energy whose quantum unit is the photon. Photonics is based on the science of optics and electronics. The origins of optical technology (photonics) date back to the remote past. In the coming century, photonics promises to be a vital part of the information revolution.
To enable us to understand and apply photonics, it is necessary to have a basic understanding of the behavior and properties of light.
