Glass for photonics

In honor of the International Year of Glass 2022 (IYoG’22), this article highlights important aspects of glass and light, focusing on more advanced photonic applications that drive a great many current and future commercially and societally beneficial products and services. Topics include a brief history of photonic glasses, an overview of light guiding, the subsequent use in planar waveguide devices, and their ubiquity as carriers of information and sensors in the form of optical fibers. These sections highlight the strong interconnections on the understanding of the glass composition, glass structure and optical properties. For next developments in glass photonics, new opportunities will be offered by machine learning, artificial intelligence, 3D printing and additive manufacturing. Additionally, the future of glass photonics may also depend on our ability to meet current challenges such as climate change, i.e., the development of an environmentally-friendly manufacturing process, considering environmental impact and possible material shortages.