Carbon fibre is an important and strategic rawmaterial for the fabrication of advanced composite materials. Carbon fibrepolymer matrix composites are being extensively used as light weight structuralmaterials in a large number of applications. In India the use of carbon fibrecomposites has a history of nearly two decades. The composites technology hasreach a mature level and is comparable to the best in the world.
Carbon fibers or carbon fibres (alternatively CF,graphite fiber or graphite fibre) are fibers about 5–10 micrometres in diameterand composed mostly of carbon atoms. To produce a carbon fiber, the carbonatoms are bonded together in crystals that are more or less aligned parallel tothe long axis of the fiber as the crystal alignment gives the fiber highstrength-to-volume ratio (making it strong for its size). Several thousandcarbon fibers are bundled together to form a tow, which may be used by itselfor woven into a fabric.