Because of these properties, silica fibers are the material of choice in many optical applications, such as communications (except for very short distances with plastic optical fiber), fiber lasers, fiber amplifiers, and fiber-optic sensors.OverviewAn optical fiber, or optical fibre, is a flexible or plastic that can transmit from one end to the other. Such fibers are widely used in, where they permit transmission over longer distances a. and first demonstrated the guiding of light by refraction, the principle that makes fiber optics possible, in in the early 1840s. included a demonstration of it in his publi. Optical fiber is used as a medium for and because it is flexible and can be bundled as cables. It is especially advantageous for long-distance communications, because propagates.