Great post, sulasailor!

Here's a good article related to products with military applications restricted by ITAR (the International Traffic in Arms Regulations).

http://www.photonics.com/Article.aspx?AID=53440

The article talks about the effect of these restrictions on commercial products.

There may be some differences between ITAR and sulasailor's point since the technologies restricted by ITAR are necesarilly of the kind that has seen the light of day - as opposed to a tech that is restricted before commercial market applications are even considered.

As far a POET is concerned, I became aware (and somewhat concerned) about how commercial IR detectors were being classified by ITAR and how it would arrest the market for IR product development. I can't find the article at the moment, but I'll post it if I can locate it. The article described the efforts of a group of prime contractors (like Boeing, Raytheon, and so on) that were fighting the legal battle against restrictions against commercial (and obviously military) IR detectors for the reasons stated above. I figured if existing IR detectors were being restricted, what happens to POET when their product, which is orders of magnitude more powerful, becomes available.