Fundamentals of Plastic Optical Fibers

Polymer photonics is an interdisciplinary field which demands excellence both in optics (photonics) and materials science (polymer). However, theses disciplines have developed independently, and therefore the demand for a comprehensive work featuring the fundamentals of photonic polymers is greater than ever. This volume focuses on Polymer Optical Fiber and their applications. The first part of the book introduces typical optical fibers according to their classifications of material, propagating mode, and structure. Optical properties, the high bandwidth POF and transmission loss are discussed, followed by an outline on the propagating mode characteristics and how they affect the performances of the fiber. The second part of the book reviews conventional materials of POFs and gives an overview on fabrication methods. This is followed by a survey of characterization methods. Based on the characteristics of optical communication systems, the last chapter will concentrate on the many advantages of POF in link and network design. Written by a top expert in the field, this is an invaluable resource for semiconductor physicists, materials scientists, polymer chemists, electrical engineers, and those working in the semiconductor industry.

Table of Contents:
Preface IX Acknowledgments XIII 1 Introduction: Faster, Further, More Information 1 1.1 Principle of Optical Fiber 3 1.2 Plastic Optical Fiber 6 References 9 2 Transmission Loss 11 2.1 Absorption Loss 11 2.1.1 Electronic Transition Absorption 11 2.1.2 Molecular Vibration Absorption 12 2.1.3 Effect of Fluorination on Attenuation Spectra of POFs 15 2.2 Scattering Loss 19 2.2.1 Definition of Scattering Loss 19 2.2.2 Heterogeneous Structure and Excess Scattering 20 2.2.3 Origin of Excess Scattering in PMMA 21 2.2.4 Empirical Estimation of Scattering Loss for Amorphous Polymers 23 2.3 Low-Loss POFs 26 2.3.1 PMMA- and PSt-Based POFs 26 2.3.2 PMMA-d8-Based POF 26 2.3.3 CYTOP®-Based POF 27 References 28 3 Transmission Capacity 31 3.1 Bandwidth 32 3.1.1 Intermodal Dispersion 32 3.1.2 Intramodal Dispersion 34 3.1.3 High-Bandwidth POF 35 3.2 Wave Propagation in POFs 38 3.2.1 Microscopic Heterogeneities 39 3.2.2 Debye’s Scattering Theory 40 3.2.3 Developed Coupled Power Theory 42 3.2.4 Mode Coupling Mechanism 44 3.2.5 Efficient Group Delay Averaging 46 3.3 Mode Coupling Effect in POFs 50 3.3.1 Radio-over-Fiber with GI POFs 50 3.3.2 Noise Reduction Effect in GI POFs 50 References 55 4 Materials 59 4.1 Representative Base Polymers of POFs 59 4.1.1 Poly(methyl methacrylate) 59 4.1.2 Perfluorinated Polymer, CYTOP® 61 4.2 Partially Halogenated Polymers 63 4.2.1 Polymethacrylate Derivatives 63 4.2.2 Polystyrene Derivatives 67 4.3 Perfluoropolymers 70 4.3.1 Perfluorinated Polydioxolane Derivatives 70 4.3.2 Copolymers of Dioxolane Monomers 74 4.3.3 Copolymers of Perfluoromethylene Dioxolanes and Fluorovinyl Monomers 74 References 76 5 Fabrication Techniques 79 5.1 Production Processes of POFs 79 5.1.1 Preform Drawing 79 5.1.2 Batch Extrusion 80 5.1.3 Continuous Extrusion 81 5.2 Fabrication Techniques of Graded-Index Preforms 82 5.2.1 Copolymerization 82 5.2.1.1 Binary Monomer System 84 5.2.1.2 Ternary Monomer System 85 5.2.2 Preferential Dopant Diffusion 90 5.2.3 Thermal Dopant Diffusion 91 5.2.4 Polymerization under Centrifugal Force 93 5.3 Extrusion of GI POFs 95 References 98 6 Characterization 101 6.1 Refractive Index Profile 101 6.1.1 Power-Law Approximation 101 6.1.2 Transverse Interference Technique 102 6.2 Launching Condition 105 6.2.1 Underfilled and Overfilled Launching 106 6.2.2 Differential Mode Launching 107 6.3 Attenuation 107 6.3.1 Cutback Technique 108 6.3.2 Differential Mode Attenuation 110 6.4 Bandwidth 111 6.4.1 Time Domain Measurement 112 6.4.2 Differential Mode Delay 113 6.5 Near-Field Pattern 114 References 117 7 Optical Link Design 119 7.1 Link Power Budget 120 7.2 Eye Diagram 120 7.2.1 Eye Opening 121 7.2.2 Eye Mask 122 7.3 Bit Error Rate and Link Power Penalty 122 7.3.1 Intersymbol Interference 125 7.3.2 Extinction Ratio 126 7.3.3 Mode Partition Noise 126 7.3.4 Relative Intensity Noise 127 7.4 Coupling Loss 127 7.4.1 Core Diameter Dependence 128 7.4.2 Ballpoint Pen Termination 129 7.4.3 Ballpoint Pen Interconnection 132 7.5 Design for Gigabit Ethernet 134 References 135 Appendix Progress in Low-Loss and High-Bandwidth Plastic Optical Fibers 139 A.1 Introduction 139 A.2 Basic Concept and Classification of Optical Fibers 140 A.3 The Advent of Plastic Optical Fibers and Analysis of Attenuation 143 A.3.1 Absorption Loss 144 A.3.2 Scattering Loss 147 A.4 Graded-Index Technologies for Faster Transmission 149 A.4.1 Interfacial-Gel Polymerization Technique 150 A.4.2 Coextrusion Process 152 A.5 Recent Studies of Low-Loss and Low-Dispersion Polymer Materials 153 A.5.1 Partially Fluorinated Polymers 156 A.5.2 Perfluorinated Polymer 159 A.6 Conclusion 165 Acknowledgment 165 References 166 Index 169

About the Author :
Yasuhiro Koike obtained his Ph.D. at Keio University where he has been a Professor since 1992. He spent a year at AT&T Bell Laboratories as a visiting researcher in 1989. He influenced the inventions of Graded-Index Polymer Optical Fiber, Highly-Scattered Optical Transmission Polymer, and other novelties. His awards include the Honorary Doctorate of Eindhoven University of Technology, NL, the International Technology Award of the Society of Plastic Engineers (SPE), and the Award of the Society of Polymer Science. He was appointed as an Affiliate Professor of the University of Washington in 2009.