Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is a clean power source which does not produce toxic substances and has low noise in operation. Fujikura Ltd. has been developing DMFC systems for various purposes such as cogeneration system in airplane, emergency power supply, and so on. The peak power of 1 kW and the fuel utilization up to 80 % had been achieved. In this paper, general technology of the Fujikura DMFC system is introduced and the future market of DMFC is discussed.

A dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) is a photovoltaic cell with excellent power generation performance even under low light or diffused light conditions as well as under high light conditions. Because DSCs can be used under low light conditions like in the shade, near windows, inside a room, they are attracting attention as an optimal power generation device in energy harvesting. Wireless environmental sensor systems powered by DSCs have advantages such as easy installation and low maintenance costs because the systems do not require battery change and wiring. In this study, we have developed a wireless environmental sensor node using energy harvesting technology.

Fiber-optic sensing is one of the most important elements in photonic sensing technology. Novel specialty fibers and the relevant technologies have been developed for various application fields, such as avionics, civil infrastructures, atomic plants and oil&gas industries. In this paper, recent progress in the fiber optic sensing is reviewed with a focus on the specialty fibers.

The recent progress of wearable electronic devices opens a novel demand of stretchability in the electronic wiring. In this context, we, Fujikura Group, have been developing the stretchable electronic wiring. Our developed stretchable wiring is applicable to wearable devices, since it keeps conductivity even under the 60% strain which corresponds to the maximum strain arises on a human skin.

A large number of drop and indoor optical cables are used for lead-in portion of Fiber To The Home (FTTH) network connection into a subscriber’s house and for wiring within the house. To construct FTTH networks more economically and efficiently, we have developed highly functional drop and indoor optical cables. This paper present the details of new drop and indoor optical cables.

The team has developed an unibody lensed resin ferrule, which is able to resolve existing multiple connector problems due to contamination. Additionally, this ferrule is interchangeable with MT ferrule, that are widely used in existing multiple optical connectors, such as MPO Connector, Back-plane Optical Connector and Optical Connector for high-definition video equipment. We evaluated the optical characteristics, environmental and mechanical reliability of the Lensed Optical Connectors. Hereinafter, multiple optical connector with lensed resin ferrule is named as Lensed Optical Connector. To show the results for insertion loss and mating durability characteristic as an example, the insertion loss of 48F multimode Lensed MPO Connector applied anti-reflection coating at 850 nm, the average and maximum loss measured are 0.36 dB and 0.76 dB respectively. For mating durability of 500 insertions without cleaning, performed remarkably with maximum loss change measured at 0.16 dB. We confirmed the optical, environmental and mechanical characteristics of Lensed Optical Connector which is obtained this time is practically possible, with exceptional mating durability characteristic, although optical performance is inferior with MT ferrule.

Digital coherent communication systems have been deployed in long-haul optical transport networks. The systems are now extended to metro-area optical networks, where small form factor and low-cost optical modules are crucial. Small-footprint PDM IQ optical modulator based on silicon-photonic platform and low-profile packaging technology for the silicon optical modulator are developed in Fujikura to meet the requirement of compact digital coherent transceivers in the metro networks. This review focuses on a monolithic silicon PDM IQ optical modulator copackaged with high-speed electrical modulator drivers in a small-footprint low-profile module and its transmission performance in optical-fiber links up to 1000 km in 128-Gb/s DP-QPSK for digital coherent communication in the metro networks.

We have developed an efficient simulation technology for automotive wire harness design. Our technology consists of a layout design simulation and a bending simulation for wire harness. In addition, we have developed an efficient method for wire harness manufacturing design by the use of 3D CAD. These CAE technologies conclusively lead to front-loading of automotive development which is required by automaker.