Abstract
Japanese companies have achieved world-class optical lens technology that is key to develop components used in digital cameras and mobile phones, and precise optical parts that enable internet optical communication. These companies hold a considerable worldwide share of the products incorporating these technologies. This field will continue to remain important for the near future, and Japan is expected to lead the world within it. In this section, typical glass and ceramic materials that are used in optical parts and optical communication are introduced.
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Notes
- 1.
Note 11.1 Departure of rays from an ideal image formation points is called “aberration.” They are represented by five Seidel aberrations and two types of color aberrations. Lenses are designed in consideration of glass types (types of optical glass), shapes and layouts so as to reduce aberrations.
- 2.
Note 11.2 In visible light region, the glass refractive index becomes lower as the wavelength becomes longer. The refractive index and wavelength dependence (called dispersion) vary depending on the type of the optical glass and its properties are expressed simply by the refractive index nd(d line; refractive index at 587.56 nm) and the Abbe number ν d. ν d = (n d-1)/(n F-n C), where n Fand n Cindicate the refractive index of the F line (486.13 nm) and the C line (656.27 nm), respectively. The ν dis smaller when the variation in refractive index due to wavelength is larger. This is interpreted as high dispersion. Please refer to Fig. 11.3.
- 3.
Note 11.3 Image that is the same as the original object in terms of orientation and size. If lenses that form erected images of the same magnification are arrayed, images formed by adjacent lenses can be superimposed. Images formed by normal lenses are inverted and cannot be superimposed.
- 4.
Note 11.4 Glass does not have a distinctive melting point where the solid phase changes to the liquid phase. However, glass has a glass-transition point where substantial changes in expansion rates are observed. In normal oxide glass, the glass-transition point is approximately 400–600°C.
- 5.
Note 11.5 Data communication service via optical fiber intended known as fiber-to-the-home (FTTH). The general term for the communication service in which optical fibers are connected to households to provide the integrated service that includes telephone, internet service, broadcasting, etc. The transmission speed is higher than conventional metal transmission and currently services run at 100–1,000 Mbps. NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Company) in Japan started “B-Flets,” a constant connection service, in 2001. This service has more than two million subscribers at the present of 2009.
- 6.
Note 11.6 0.25 mm products are sometimes called optical fiber wires.
- 7.
Note 11.7 The process where a cylindrical void is collapsed by thermal treatment to create cylindrical glass.
- 8.
Note 11.8 A cylindrical jig on which an optical fiber is wound.
- 9.
Note 11.9 The 1.55 μm signal light can be amplified by adding Er, rare earth, to the core of a quartz-based fiber and light to the fiber using a semiconductor laser. In long-distance optical communication prior to the introduction of EDFA, light was transformed to electricity for amplification and electricity was transformed to light for transmission via optical fibers. Following the introduction of EDFA, signal light can now be relayed and transmitted without transformation to electricity.
- 10.
Note 11.10 CATV stands for “Cable Tele-Vision”, meaning a cable broadcasting service that distributes television broadcasting via a network connected by electrical wires, such as coaxial cables. The system was originally developed so that TV broadcasting can be viewed in areas where the reception of ground-based TV broadcasting is poor. However multi-channel, telephone and high-speed Internet services have been offered through the system in recent years.
- 11.
Note 11.11 FTTH stands for “Fiber to the Home”, which is a high-speed communication service that utilizes optical fiber and is intended for families. Telephone, Internet and TV services can be offered as one package by connecting homes using optical fibers.
- 12.
Note 11.12 “Wavelength Division Multiplexing” allows various information to be transmitted simultaneously via a single optical fiber by putting together signals that vary slightly in wavelength (multiplexing). This makes it possible to increase, without much difficulty, the transmission capacity.
- 13.
Note 11.13 When electrons in the excited state are exposed to external light, having an energy equivalent to the energy difference between the ground level and the excitation level, the electrons release energy in the form of light and then relax to a low-energy level. This phenomenon is called induced emission.
- 14.
Note 11.14 DWDM stands for Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing. It is one type of the communication technology incorporating optical fibers.
- 15.
Note 11.15 P C stands for physical contact. It is a technology for stacking optical fibers together to prevent Fresnel reflection.
- 16.
Note 11.16 It is an optical connector, developed by NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation), incorporating a φ1.25 mm zirconia ferrule.
- 17.
Note 11.17 It is an optical connector, developed by Lucent Technologies, Inc., incorporating a φ1.25 mm zirconia ferrule.
Literature
Angle MA, Blair GE, Maier CC (1974) US Patent 3,833,347 (11.1)
Murata H, Koizumi T, Niizeki Y (2003) History of optical fiber, memoire of developers. Kogyo Tsushin Co., Ltd., Tokyo (in Japanese) (11.2)
Okubo K (1994) Optical fiber technology in ISDN era. Rikogakusha, Tokyo (in Japanese) (11.3)
Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. Homepage: http://www.furukawa.co.jp/fiber/jp/index.htm(11.3)
Suematsu Y (ed) (1986) Optical fiber applications technologies. Nikkei Gijutu Tosho (in Japanese) (11.3)
ITU-T (International Telecommunication Union – Telecommunication Standardization Sector). Homepage: http://www.itu.int/(11.3)
Miki T, Sudo S (2002) Optical communication technology handbook. Optronics, pp 248–259 (in Japanese) (11.5)
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The Ceramic Society of Japan. (2012). Optical Parts and Optical Communication. In: Advanced Ceramic Technologies & Products. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54108-0_11
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