AN EFFICIENT METHOD FOR ANALYZING GRADED-INDEX OPTICAL FIBERS

We describe a method for analyzing graded index optical fibers using a stepwise function approximation to model the core refractive index profile. For each homogeneous shell uncoupled radial equations for the longitudinal field components E(z) and H(z) are considered. Relationship between field solutions corresponding to core adjacent shells is established with the help of appropriate boundary conditions. Numerical results obtained with this method are presented and discussed, with special attention being focused on the analysis of the number of discretization steps necessary for achieving satisfactory core modeling.