Plastic optical fibers for near-infrared transmission

A new plastic optical fiber using pentafluoro trideutero styrene as a core has been prepared which enables stable transmission of near-infrared (near-IR) optical signals. Replacement of hydrogen in the core polymer with a combination of fluorine and deuterium effectively reduces molecular vibrational absorption from the near-IR to the visible region. A 174 dB/km attenuation loss was obtained in the 850 nm region. Fluorination of aromatic hydrogen of styrene suppresses the water vapor absorption very effectively, and stable optical attenuation under high humidity is achieved.