Polymer optical fibres

The background to the development of polymer optical fibres (POFs) and the methods used for their manufacture are described. The optical properties of polymers are then discussed in the context of fibres, taking the most common POF materials, polymethylmethacrylate and polystyrene, as examples. The poor market penetration of POFs, due to inadequate performance in terms of attenuation, bandwidth and temperature resistance, is then explained. The article concludes with a discussion of techniques which show great promise for the development of a new generation of high-performance POFs.