Optical Polymers Downloaded from pubs.acs.org by 188.68.0.21 on 09/28/18. For personal use only.
Preface Light harvesting is an integral part of many scientific disciplines and is of paramount importance in many economically important applications. Recent research has focused on the use of polymers in optical fibers and waveguides. Polymers have advantages over conventional glass materials in that they are low cost, lightweight, flexible, and can be processed into large diameter fibers. Great advances have been made in the development of novel local area network systems, high-speed fibers, light guides, and displays. Polymers, unlike silica materials, offer the advantage of being easily doped with organic molecules. Dye-doped polymers have been used to construct scintillators used to detect high-energy radiation and in other fluorescent devices used to produce sensors, switches, and modulators. A l l of these achievements have presented us with enormous challenges, because they have evidenced the need to develop devices with stable refractive index gradients, increased transparency throughout the U V , visible and near infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum and increased temperature resistance. This volume was developed from a symposium presented at the 218 American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting, titled: "Optical Polymers: Advances in Optical Fibers and Waveguides" in New Orleans, Louisiana, August 1999. The A C S Division of Polymer Chemistry, Inc. sponsored this symposium. The purpose of the symposium was to bring together scientists from different disciplines to discuss the future needs of polymers in optical applications. This volume provides an overview of recent research in several areas of fiber-waveguide technology. Among the main topics covered are a tutorial on optical fibers and a discussion on the feasibility of overcoming drawbacks associated with plastic optical fibers systems. Additional chapters describe novel polymers for nonlinear optical applications; optically active, erbium doped polymers; novel, fluorinated polymers, blends, and UV-curable polymeric cladding materials; hard plastic cladding materials; fluorescent optical fibers for data transmission and scintillator polymers for detectors; design of gradient index fibers; and the effect of climatic and mechanical environments on transmission in fibers. This book is interdisciplinary in nature and is useful to physicists, chemists, engineers, materials scientists, as well as individuals and organizations concerned with synthesis, design and processing of waveguides. th
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Acknowledgments Contributors to the symposium and to this volume are thanked for sharing their work and scientific expertise with all who are interested in polymeric waveguides. In addition, the editors acknowledge the A C S Division of Polymer Chemistry, Inc. and Kelly Dennis at A C S Books Department for her help with this volume.
Julie P. Harmon Department of Chemistry University of South Florida S C A 400 4202 East Fowler Avenue Tampa, F L 33620-5250
Gerry K. Noren Fiber Optic Materials Research D S M Desotech Inc. 1122 Saint Charles Street Elgin, Illinois 60120
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