Boston Optical Fiber to produce graded-index plastic fiber

In a move that is an industry first, Boston Optical Fiber (Marlborough, MA) has announced commercial production of high-speed, graded-index plastic optical fiber. The fiber is manufactured of poly(methylmethacrylate), or PMMA, using a proprietary process licensed by Yashiro Koike (Keio University, Yokohama, Japan). The economical, easy-to-use fiber is expected to play a key role in curb-to-desktop connections as well as local-area networks for aerospace, automotive, and military applications. These networks are growing at the rate of several million connections per year, with average associated cabling of 75 m. Boston Optical Fiber cofounders Kate McDonough and Edward Berman expect plastic fiber to penetrate 25% to 50% of this market.