Georgia Tech-COPE Distinguished Lecture Series - Yasuhiro Koike

Dr. Yasuhiro Koike is Professor in the Faculty of Science and Technology of Keio University (located in the Minato ward of Tokyo) and Director of the Keio Photonics Research Institute.  He received his Ph.D. in Engineering from the Graduate School of Engineering, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan. He served as a visiting research staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories from 1989 to 1990. Dr. Koike has been Professor at Keio University since 1997. He specializes in photonics polymers, in particular, high-bandwidth graded-index polymer optical fibers (GI POF), highly scattered optical transmission (HSOT) polymers, and zero birefringence polymers.

Dr. Koike has been pursuing an R&D project on Face-to-Face Communications systems using photonics polymer technologies in the framework of the "Funding Program for World-Leading Innovative R&D on Science and Technology (FIRST program)" of the Cabinet Office of Japan since 2010. He received the International Engineering and Technology Award of the Society of Plastics Engineers in 1994, the Fujiwara Award in 2001, and the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon from the Government of Japan in 2006. In 2007, he received an Honorary Doctorate from Eindhoven University of Technology.

Novel Photonics Polymers for Face-to-Face Communication

Recent progress and status of photonics polymers for overwhelmingly realistic face-to-face communication are described. When the world’s fastest graded-index plastic optical fiber (with a 40gbps bandwidth) is directly connected to a large size display, a high realistic sensation is achieved without any time lag. A 3D/4K display has been successfully fabricated from a highly scattering optical transmission polymer, which increases the brightness and contrast. The display is based on the invention of a zero-birefringence polymer that dramatically improves the control of the polarization phase and removes the “mura” (unevenness) problem at low fabrication cost. The key technology is the use of photonics polymers that will totally change today’s communication systems.