Analysis of Side-Polished Few-Mode Optical Fiber
Abstract
Side-polished fiber allows access to the evanescent field propagating in the cladding of a few-mode fiber. This cladding mode is analyzed and experimentally validated to further the design of a novel class of fiber optic devices. To do this, specific modes are excited in the polished fiber using a phase-only spatial light modulator to determine spatial mode distribution. Each mode is excited and compared to the expected field distribution and to confirm that higher order modes can propagate through side-polished fiber. Based on each mode’s distribution, a side-polished fiber can be designed so that perturbations on the polished portion of the fiber effect each mode independently. By carefully analyzing the effects of identical perturbations on each mode, it is determined that each mode can be isolated based on the geometry of the polished fiber and careful alignment of the mode field. This research has the potential to advance the development of novel fiber-based sensors and communications devices utilizing mode-based interferometry and mode multiplexing.
General Audience Abstract
Fiber optic devices have seen significant advancement since the realization of the laser and low-loss optical fiber. Modern day fiber optics are commonly utilized for high-bandwidth communications and specialized sensing applications. Utilizing multiple modes, or wave distributions, in a fiber provides significant advantages towards increasing bandwidth for communications and provides potential for more accurate sensing techniques. Significant research has been conducted in both the sensing and communication field, but mode-domain devices have the capability to significantly advance the field of fiber optic devices. This thesis demonstrates the potential for side-polished fiber geometry to effect each mode independently, thus allowing side-polished fiber to be utilized for realizing novel devices such as multiplexing devices and fiber optic sensors.
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