Microstructured Polymer Optical Fibres (eBook)

Preface 6
Acknowledgments 9
Contents 13
List of Figures 17
List of Tables 21
List of Symbols and Acronyms 22
1 History and Applications of Polymer Fibres and Microstructured Fibres 24
1.1 Considerations In The Early Stages Of Polymer Fibre Development 24
1.2 Fabrication Considerations For Polymer And Glass Optical Fibres 26
1.3 Index Contrast Between Core And Cladding 29
1.4 Physical Properties Of Polymers 30
1.5 Current Applications Of Conventional Polymer Fibres 31
1.6 History And Overview Of Microstructured Fibres 33
References 39
2 Concepts in Waveguide Theory 44
2.1 Modes 44
2.2 Coupling Light In And Out 50
2.3 Bandwidth And Dispersion 53
2.4 Power Mixing In Multimode Fibres 55
2.5 Conventional Guidance Mechanisms 58
References 60
3 Guiding Concepts in Microstructured Fibres 62
3.1 Photonic Bandgap Guidance 62
3.2 Confinement Loss 68
3.3 Manipulating Dispersion 72
References 73
4 The Modelling and Design of Microstructured Polymer Optical Fibres 76
4.1 Nomenclature 77
4.2 Algorithms 80
4.3 Power Mixing Theory 86
4.4 Example Designs For Various Fibre Attributes 91
4.5 Automated Design 96
References 100
5 Fabrication of Microstructured Polymer Optical Fibres 105
5.1 Preform Production 106
5.2 Fibre Drawing And Furnace Design 116
5.3 Quality Of Fabricated MPOF 125
References 128
6 Effects of Drawing on the Microstructure 133
6.1 Scaling Analysis For Fibre Drawing 133
6.2 Isothermal Analysis Of Hole Deformation 137
6.3 Nonisothermal Analysis Of Hole Deformation 143
References 150
7 The Handling and Characterisation of Microstructured Polymer Optical Fibres 152
7.1 Cutting And Handling 152
7.2 Fibre Characterisation 157
Nomalized 177
Transmission 177
References 179
8 Hollow-Core Microstructured Polymer Optical Fibres 185
8.1 Introduction 185
8.2 Fabrication 186
8.3 Transmission Properties 188
8.4 Issues Affecting The Performance Of Bandgap Fibres 191
8.5 Applications Of Photonic Bandgap Fibres 196
8.6 Challenges And Future Directions 196
References 197
9 Graded-Index Microstructured Polymer Optical Fibres 200
9.1 Material Dispersion 200
9.2 Intermodal Dispersion 202
9.3 The Effect of the Graded-Index Microstructure 202
9.4 Experimental Characterisation Of GImPOFs 207
9.5 Challenges And Future Directions 208
References 209
10 Bragg and Long Period Gratings in mPOF 211
10.1 Introduction 211
10.2 Fibre Bragg Gratings 215
10.3 Long Period Gratings 220
10.4 Challenges And Future Directions 225
References 226
11 Material Additives for Microstructured Polymer Optical Fibres 230
11.1 Introduction 230
11.2 Doping Methods 233
11.3 Fluorescence Measurements 238
11.4 An MPOF Amplifier And Laser 239
11.5 Challenges And Future Directions 242
References 242
Index 245