Such a huge arena but remember it's only "plumbing" just as many RF/microwave applications. I could write a book but, as with guys like Coombs, why bother. It/they already are written. I know there are legendary experts that can offer books and starting points for this discussion Are you ready? What are all the optical terms? There's fiber optical fibers, grinding, polishing, alignment using all manner of goodies including Silicon optical benches, and fusing, etc. No matter, it's all plumbing until you get to the optical/electronic interfaces and components. MoonMan --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8d To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt delivery of Technet send the following message: SET Technet NOMAIL Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > E-mail Archives Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------