Silica microwires are the tiny and as yet underutilized cousins of optical fibers. If precisely manufactured, however, these hair-like slivers of silica could enable applications and technology not currently possible with comparatively bulky optical fiber. By carefully controlling the shape of water droplets with an ultraviolet laser, a team of researchers has found a way to coax silica nanoparticles to self-assemble into much more highly uniform silica wires.

Source: Self-assembling silica microwires may herald new generation of integrated optical devices