Title: Optical Properties of Microstructure Optical Fibers
Abstract: The development of optical-fiber cables and communications technology has undergone a dramatic revolution over the past decade [1]. The most basic design of an optical fiber consists of silica cladding that surrounds a silica core doped with germanium (GeO2), which increases the index of refraction by up to 2% above that of pure silica, allowing light to be guided by total internal reflection at the core-cladding interface. Over the years, however, this basic geometry has evolved to substantially alter the waveguide properties, especially the dispersion in the 1.3 to 1.6 micron wavelength region. Design variations have included shaping the core index profile and adding down-doped and up-doped rings as well as elliptical cores for polarization-preserving fibers. New fiber structures that incorporate numerous air holes within the cladding region have emerged (Fig. 12.1) allowing for additional degrees of freedom that do not exist in conventional waveguide designs. The use of microstructure air holes around the fiber core have enabled new capabilities that have and will have an impact on many fields, from metrology to medicine. Microstructure or holey fibers and photonic crystal fibers can guide light either through total internal reflection between a solid silica core and air cladding or through a photonic bandgap (i.e., via diffraction) created by a periodicity in a microstructure cladding.
Publication Year: 2003
Publication Date: 2003-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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