During the Dies Natalis celebrations of Eindhoven University of Technology on 27 April 2007 Professor Yasuhiro Koike of Keio University in Japan will receive an honorary doctorate. He is being awarded this special distinction for his innovative research into photonic polymers. One particular application of his photonic polymers can be seen in the area of polymer fibres for communications. Professor Djan Khoe of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering will be speaking as his honorary promotor.
Traditional glass fibre connections are very suitable for data transport over long distances but have practical shortcomings with short distances to and inside buildings. These thin and fragile glass fibres are too expensive and brittle for small scale networks, so plastic broadband connections are particularly useful for making "fibre to the user" possible on a large scale.
Professor Yasuhiro Koike has made a crucial contribution to research into photonic polymers and has already been awarded a great many distinctions during his scientific career. The most prestigious award is the International Technology Award from the Society of Plastic Engineers. He is a world leader in four specific scientific areas within photonic polymers. The first two mentioned below have reached the stage of industrial production and application and the other two areas are still in the development phase at the moment.
The four areas of technology are:
1. Graded Index Polymer Optical Fiber (GI-POF) for communications
2. Highly scattering Optical Transmission (HSOT) Polymer for displays
3. Zero-Birefringence Polymer
4. Polymer Optical Fiber Amplifier and Laser