Abstract
In order to use polymers as optical materials in various devices, such as flat panel displays, optical discs, optical lenses and optical fibers, ideal optical characteristics including transparency, refractive index, etc., must be achieved. We have clarified the quantitative relationship between the essential optical properties of polymers and the chemical structure of a repeating unit, in order to predict optical properties only from the chemical structure of the unit. This review describes the quantitative prediction of the refractive index of polymers from their chemical structure. This prediction system is useful for the molecular design of optical polymers.
