There is provided a plastic optical fiber including a core and at least one layer of a clad formed on an outer circumferential surface of the core, wherein a transmission band is 100 MHz or wider, as measured under conditions of a wavelength of 650 nm and a launch NA=0.65; and a transmission loss is 350 dB/km or less, as measured under conditions of a wavelength of 650 nm and a launch NA=0.1, after exposure to an environment of a temperature of 105 C. for 1000 hours.

A process to enhance the performance of plastic optical fiber to operate with a high data rate (e.g., at least 1 gigabit per second) at high temperature (e.g., 100 degrees Celsius) for airplane avionic systems. Gigabit plastic optical fiber has a core including a dopant that enables data transmission at gigabit rates. The enhancement process uses rapid thermal cooling of the gigabit plastic optical fiber to stabilize the polymer matrix of the fiber. This rapid cooling treatment blocks dopant diffusion in a high-temperature environment, thereby avoiding degradation of the fiber's bandwidth and optical loss characteristic. Such degradation typically occurs in gigabit plastic optical fiber having core and cladding made of transparent carbon-hydrogen bond-free perfluorinated polymer.

A process to enhance the performance of plastic optical fiber to operate with a high data rate (e.g., at least 1 gigabit per second) at high temperature (e.g., 100 degrees Celsius) for airplane avionic systems. Gigabit plastic optical fiber has a core including a dopant that enables data transmission at gigabit rates. The enhancement process uses rapid thermal cooling of the gigabit plastic optical fiber to stabilize the polymer matrix of the fiber. This rapid cooling treatment blocks dopant diffusion in a high-temperature environment, thereby avoiding degradation of the fiber's bandwidth and optical loss characteristic. Such degradation typically occurs in gigabit plastic optical fiber having core and cladding made of transparent carbon-hydrogen bond-free perfluorinated polymer.

A light source with a linear appearance is provided. The light source has a flexible light guide that has a homogeneous light emission with high luminance and a emitting light guide. The light emitting guide has a core, in which at least one soul extends, and a transparent cladding that surrounds the core. The core and the cladding are formed from transparent plastic. The core has a higher index of refraction than the cladding. The soul is light-deflecting, light-reflecting, or light-scattering so as to scatter light guided in the light guide and to emit the light through the cladding toward the outside. The soul has a scattering length that is at most twice as large as a maximum cross-sectional dimension of the soul.

A plastic optical fiber including a first cladding; a first core forming a first sea portion inside the first cladding; and a first island portion formed inside the first core with at least an outer periphery having a lower refractive index than the first sea portion, wherein the first core includes a polymethyl methacrylate-based resin.

A plastic optical fiber is excellent in translucency, heat resistance, resistance to environment and the like, and has highly excellent flexibility. The plastic optical fiber contains a core and at least one layer of cladding, wherein the bending elastic modulus of the innermost layer of the cladding is 20 to 70 MPa, the glass transition temperature of the innermost layer of the cladding is 10 C. or lower, and the storage elastic modulus of the innermost layer of the cladding at 30 C. is 110.sup.6 Pa to 410.sup.7 Pa.

A plastic optical fiber is excellent in translucency, heat resistance, resistance to environment and the like, and has highly excellent flexibility. The plastic optical fiber contains a core and at least one layer of cladding, wherein the bending elastic modulus of the innermost layer of the cladding is 20 to 70 MPa, the glass transition temperature of the innermost layer of the cladding is 10 C. or lower, and the storage elastic modulus of the innermost layer of the cladding at 30 C. is 110.sup.6 Pa to 410.sup.7 Pa.

An optical fiber is formed from silica glass, and includes a core, a first cladding which surrounds the core and has a refractive index lower than the refractive index of the core, and a second cladding which surrounds the first cladding and has a refractive index that is lower than the refractive index of the core and higher than the refractive index of the first cladding. The second cladding is divided into an inner region that is in contact with the first cladding and an outer region which surrounds the inner region and has a thickness that is half the thickness of the second cladding or less, while being 5 m or more. The residual stress in at least a part of the outer region is a compressive stress.

Disclosed is a photosensitive resin composition for an optical waveguide containing a resin component and a photoacid generator. In the photosensitive resin composition, the resin component is constituted of an epoxy resin component containing both an aromatic epoxy resin and an aliphatic epoxy resin, and the content of the aromatic epoxy resin is 55 wt. % or more and less than 80 wt. % of the entirety of the epoxy resin component and the content of the aliphatic epoxy resin is more than 20 wt. % and 45 wt. % or less of the entirety of the epoxy resin component. Accordingly, for example, when a core layer of an optical waveguide is formed using the disclosed photosensitive resin composition for an optical waveguide, a core layer of an optical waveguide having satisfactorily low tackiness and high transparency while maintaining satisfactory roll-to-roll compatibility and a high resolution patterning property can be formed.

Various surgical devices having integrated means of illuminating a surgical field are provided. Retractors, cannulas, suction devices and the like are disclosed having integrated optical waveguides coupleable to external lighting sources. The waveguides feature cladding layers configured to enhance transmission efficiency.