- Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells that differentiate and then proliferate in various organs
- High temperature superconductive wire to be used in electric power transmission
- Counteracting a flu pandemic crisis
- Fourth generation optical disc to follow Blu-ray discs
- Generating ultra-thin films at the molecular level
- Fundamental regenerative medicine technology: Generating cell sheets
- Discovery and clinical application of the gene responsible for lung cancer
- Clarifying the function of substances that recognize pathogens and activate the immunity system
- Transparent semiconductor from common materials
- Finding a new family of high temperature superconducting materials
- Development of highly functional and high performance light-emitting element originating in blue
- Organic synthesis method without use of organic solvents
- Plastic optical fiber that allows High-speed, large-capacity communication
- Enabling extra-large capacity hard disks
Koike Photonics Polymer Project
Yasuhiro Koike (Professor, Keio University)
ERATO(2000-05) SORST(2005-2009)
Development of new optical polymer polymer
Developing an advanced home electronics society utilizing user-friendly optical fibers
Research Overview
The transparency of plastic optical fiber, which is lower than that of quartz optical fiber, has been successfully increased. Compared with its quartz counterpart, plastic optical fiber is light, strong against bending and can perform high-volume signal transmission. It has already been used in high-capacity intra-building networks at hospitals and office buildings.
Impact of Research Achievements
■ The molecular design of high-speed plastic optical fiber and a gigabit network system using the fiber have been developed, enabling high-speed transmission at 12 Gbps. Using this network, a demonstration experiment of real-time remote teaching at Keio University was conducted, and an intra-hospital network has been established (Sakakibara Memorial Hospital).
■ A technique to eliminate the birefringence of polymers by adding inorganic nano-size needle crystals to optical polymers has been developed. Its application to high-definition displays is anticipated.
■ Size of the global market for plastic optical fiber in 2013 will be about 10 billion yen.
