Design and Analysis of Single-Mode Polymer Segment Cladding Optical Fibers

The mode properties of polymer segment cladding optical fibers are investigated. Numerical results demonstrate that for the previous reported fiber configurations, the LP11 mode is generally not the lowest loss high-order mode. As a result, the fibers are not single-mode guided. Improved design is presented to eliminate all the high-order modes of the fibers. In addition, a modified segment cladding optical fiber is proposed. The segment profile of the fiber is modified to effectively eliminate the high-order modes and confine the fundamental mode more effectively simultaneously. Numerical investigations demonstrate that single-mode operation with low confinement and bending loss can be achieved in the proposed fiber. © 2006 IEEE.