Abstract
The cross-sections of practical optical fibres do not have perfect circular symmetry. The appropriate mathematical representation of the refractive index profile is discussed and it is shown that the basic power law profile in circular fibres should be replaced by a grading functionF which is a homogeneous function of thex andy coordinates. Multimode optical fibres of this type are analysed using geometric optics. General properties of ray paths are described. The fundamental quantities of interest in fibre optics (power acceptance, ray transit time, impulse response) are shown to depend on the degree of homogeneity ofF but not on its specific form. Thus, fibres need not have circular symmetry in order to retain the desirable properties of the circular power law fibres. Ray paths and classifications are analysed in detail for elliptical, parabolic-index fibres. Splicing losses are examined and are shown to be not drastically dependent on deviations from circular symmetry.
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Barrell, K.F., Pask, C. Geometric optics analysis of non-circular, graded-index fibres. Opt Quant Electron 11, 237–251 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00620110
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00620110