Case Studies
Fuji Polymer: Transfer of Light Through Silicone
Transparent and highly stable silicone rubbers – while they are widely used as sealing and cushioning materials, there are only a few companies capable of manufacturing functional silicone that conducts heat, electricity, or light. Fuji Polymer Industries Co., Ltd. (Fujipoly) is one of these manufacturers. This well-established company was founded in 1978 through transfer of control of the Industrial Silicone Rubber Division of Dow Corning Co., Ltd., a worldwide chemical manufacturer via a joint investment with Chugai Co., Ltd. What is unique about Fujipoly is that they have added the ability to conduct heat or electricity to their silicone parts. The products have been commercialized as the thermally-conductive and flame-retardant silicone rubber, “Sarcon Series”, and the anisotropically conductive silicone rubber sheet, “Connector Series”.
After developing new thermally-conductive and electrically-conductive products one after another, Fujipoly launched a new challenge: the developmentof silicone rubber that conducts light. While taking advantage of the properties of transparent silicone rubber, Fujipoly made round-the-clock efforts to achieve further higher transmissivity and a uniform light-emitting face. Finally, Fujipoly succeeded in creating light guide film (LGF) using silicone rubber. By applying special treatment to 0.2-mm thick silicone rubber film, Fujipoly realized a surface light source with high transmissivity and uniform light emission.
