7.1 Optical Applications

The growing use of fibre optic cables has stimulated the demand for ancillary components to facilitate connections and other requirements. One interesting development at Toronto University in Canada has been the production of a new hybrid plastic which can produce light at the wavelengths used in fibre optic communications thus paving the way for an optical computer chip.

Use of optical fibre is found in the car, the home, small offices and into consumer products. Polymer optical fibres (POF) are cheaper than glass and are easier to manufacture and use, although their maximum effective operating length is of the order of a few hundred metres. POF offer the prospect of being able to employ simple low cost moulded plugs to make rapid connections. One contributory factor to the simplicity is the fact that plastic optical fibre has a diameter of up to 1 mm which is around eight times the diameter of a standard single mode silica fibre. POF is more tolerant of connection misalignment than silica.

COC, previously three times the price of such competing optical resins as acrylic and PC, were pioneered in Japan for such optical applications as film and sheet for LCD. They have also made inroads into the market as light-guide panels for laptop computers where resulting weight savings have justified the price premium.

7.2 Search for New Products

One of the problems in the UK is the frequent inability to translate a good idea into a saleable product. This study has...