Bio‑Optic Cable: Growing Self‑Healing Optical Waveguides from Bacterial Cellulose and Aragonite (Bench‑Scale to 10–50 m)

We present a bio‑fabrication route to low‑loss, self‑healing optical waveguides grown at ≤35 °C from bacterial cellulose (BC) and microbially induced aragonite (MICP). Two regimes are pursued: (A) TIR with a dehydrated BC core (n≈1.53) and low‑n siloxane cladding; (B) anti‑resonant hollow‑core (AR‑HC) using a thin aragonite ring whose thickness satisfies an anti‑resonance condition. A 90‑day roadmap specifies targets of α≤3 dB/m (V1) and ≤0.25–1 dB/m (V2) at 635–785 nm with Δα≤1 dB after 100×90° bends, plus σ_rms<10 nm and ring uniformity ±5%. For data links we bound lengths to 10–25 m unless V2 achieves ≤0.25 dB/m; sensing‑first AR‑HC prototypes emphasize ring‑thickness control (≈100–120 nm for 635–785 nm, m=0) and fluidic/ROS integration. This platform targets short‑run green links and root‑zone photonics while enabling biodegradable end‑of‑life.