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March 2, 2010
STOP
These notes are NOT a step-by-step guide. Read to the next stop point
(including the theory section) before starting the experiment.
1 Introduction
The importance and ubiquity of optical fibres in modern technology, from communications infras-
tructure to medical applications and precision sensors, little needs to be stated. When choosing
a fibre for a given application, one of the most fundamental decisions is between singlemode and
multimode fibres. In this prac, you will work with three different fibres (singlemode, few mode,
and multimode) and compare the output obtained from each type. This will allow you to probe
the theory of modes in waveguides, as well as giving you practical experience coupling laser light
into fibres and measuring their properties.
2 Theory
You probably know already that optical fibres usually comprise cylindrical dielectric waveguides
for which, unlike hollow metallic waveguides, the electric field is not zero at the outer surface of
the waveguide. In other words, the boundary conditions when we solve Maxwell’s equations for
light in the fibre relate not to conductors, but to the reflection/refraction of light at a dielectric
interface, phenomena usually discussed in terms of the Fresnel reflection/refraction coefficients.
Here, we consider only the simplest optical fibre structure: the step-index fibre. All the
fibres used in this experiment take this form. In such a configuration, the fibre is composed of
a cylindrical core of uniform refractive index, surrounded by a cladding region of slightly lower
refractive index, which in turn is usually surrounded by a protective jacket of some kind. (You
can examine these different regions using the fibre scope.) The core and cladding are depicted
in Fig 1.
Although light guided down the fibre is largely concentrated in the core region, the boundary
conditions mean that the fields extend beyond the core into the cladding region, and sometimes
even further. One way to think of this is by treating the light in the fibre as bundles of rays
which must be totally internally reflected from the core-cladding interface in order to propagate
down the fibre. The field which extends into the cladding is then the evanescent field which
decays with distance from the t.i.r. interface. (Such a picture is strictly only valid when the
core diameter is much larger than the wavelength of the light in question.) This evanescent
field explains why at least two fibre regions (core and cladding) are necessary in practice, even
though the core alone would serve as a waveguide in idealised conditions. For, in practice, there
would be some other objects sufficiently close to the core-only fibre that the electric field at
those objects would be non-zero; dirt or dust on the fibre surface are a good example. As a
1
Figure 1: Step-index fibre showing simplified ray approach to propagation and refractive index
profile (core and cladding sizes not to scale).
result, energy would be lost from the guided wave; clearly not a desirable outcome. Note that
the cladding also has other practical benefits, such as adding mechanical strength to the fibre [1].
As you might expect, light in the waveguide takes the form of different modes (see especially
Ref [1]). There are three major types: guided modes, leaky modes, and radiation modes. Guided
modes are discrete modes which propagate down the fibre, of which there are only a finite
number. These modes are distinguished by the fact that their electric field distribution across
the fibre decays exponentially outside the core region, just like the evanescent field associated
with total internal reflection. Guided modes are thus essentially confined to the core. Leaky
modes, on the other hand, are only partially located in the core, and continuously radiate
energy out of the core as they propagate, by means of quantum tunnelling (Ref [2] provides
more details on this process). Finally, an infinite continuum of radiation modes exists. These
can be considered, in the ray picture, as rays which are refracted out of the core (see Fig 1);
some of them become trapped in the cladding and propagate as cladding modes, which may
then couple with higher-order guided modes.
In this experiment, we are mainly interested in guided modes. One simple means to establish
whether light entering the fibre will be guided down it is to use the fibre numerical aperture
(NA), which is usually listed in fibre specifications. It is defined
2
Figure 2: Low-order LP modes. Pale and dark shading indicates regions out of phase with each
other. (From [3])
modes, so that a signal launched in one mode could interfere with that in another mode. In
practice, mode coupling will occur in multimode fibres. It is not always detrimental, however,
as it can serve to ‘fill out’ the NA of the fibre by exciting additional modes, when those modes
are not initially excited by an input beam having a lower NA than that of the fibre. Finally,
the lowest order mode has a smooth Gaussian (to very good approximation) profile, which is
desirable in many research and sensing applications. We typically characterise the number of
allowed modes in a given fibre at a given input wavelength through the V-number (also known
as the normalised frequency),
V2
M≈ (3)
2
3 Experiment
3.1 Multimode Fibre
In this section, you will measure the NA of the multimode fibre, calculate its V-number, and
estimate the number of modes present in the fibre.
3
Figure 3: Plot of the normalised propagation constant against the V number for low order LP
modes. (Taken from [1, p. 2254])
to identify the core and cladding regions, as well as any additional protective layers outside the
cladding.
You should also examine all fibres before use to check for potential dust/dirt on the fibre
end. This can be removed by lightly brushing with a lens cleaning tissue. Do not rub the
fibre end as you may damage it. If serious dirt persists, ask a tutor for help.
4
Tips for achieving good coupling
• Ensure that the laser beam is travelling parallel to the surface of the optical breadboard
and parallel to the lines marked out by the holes in the breadboard. This will make your
job easier.
• Leave some space between the laser and the coupler. Later, you may wish to add com-
ponents in between the two, and leaving space now means you won’t have to re-do the
coupling.
• Don’t attach the fibre to the coupler just yet. It is good practice to block the laser
beam while inserting optical components in the beam path in order to avoid uncontrolled
reflections which are potentially damaging. Position the coupler so that the laser spot is
as close to the centre of the lens as possible. For this it may be useful to look at the light
emerging behind the lens. Also adjust the tilt of the coupler so that the front surface is
normal to the laser beam; looking at any back reflection from the lens surface is a good
way to do this.
• Now attach the fibre to the coupler. Examine the light output from the fibre using a piece
of paper. If you can’t see anything, you can look straight at the fibre output end, taking
care not to stare at it; this lets you see very faint light emerging from the fibre. Adjust
the fine controls to maximise the light output; once it is possible to see this on a screen,
stop looking directly at the fibre end. Consult a tutor if you are concerned about whether
it is safe to examine the fibre end directly.
• Coupling into fibres can be frustrating; persevere and try to establish a method in your
adjustments; this will make things easier in the long run. Once you are happy, fix the fibre
output end into the mount provided.
2λf
w0 = (4)
πD
where w0 is the radius of the spot at the focus, λ is the wavelength in free space, f is the focal
length of the lens, and D is the diameter of the input beam. How does the input NA compare
to that of the fibre? Did this have any impact on how you coupled light into the fibre?
What happens to the output pattern when you start to bend the fibre? Do not bend it in a
tight circle (less than about 3 cm diameter) as this could damage/break the fibre.
5
Table 1: Multimode and singlemode fibre specifications (as provided by manufacturer).
Specification Multimode Singlemode
core diameter 100 µm -
cladding diameter 140 µm 125 µm
NA 0.290 0.12
cutoff wavelength - 500-600 nm
mode field diameter - 4.3 µm
• You can focus the webcam onto the screen using the manual focus slider under the
tab in the settings panel in the Logitech Webcam Software program.
• A key consideration in obtaining good data is not to saturate the camera. You may find
it helpful to place the camera on the opposite side of the screen to the fibre. You can also
adjust the exposure and gain of the camera with sliders under the tab in the settings
panel.
• A Matlab script, saturate.m, is provided on the computer with the prac, as well as on the
course Blackboard site. The file is read only, so you will have to copy the commands to
another m-file. If you save your image as a bitmap, this script will read it in to Matlab
and plot an image of the red channel. You will also be prompted to enter a row number;
the script will plot a cut through that row of the image showing intensity against pixels.
Use this m-file to check that your data is not saturating the camera, as it may be difficult
to tell simply from the image on the screen. Later, you should adapt this m-file to obtain
the necessary data and manipulate it to determine the fibre NA.
STOP
Before continuing, show a tutor the plots generated by saturate.m with the
data you intend to use for the multimode fibre NA. Use the cut through plot to
obtain a rough estimate of the fibre NA. Discuss with the tutor your method
for measuring the NA, i.e. steps you took to reduce uncertainty, and how you
will process your data.
6
Compare your measurement with the rated NA from Table 1, and discuss the agreement,
your results, and their uncertainties. Discuss the agreement between the NA of the input light
(as determined in the previous section) and the singlemode fibre NA. What does this mean for
power delivery from the fibre? Estimate the V-number of this fibre, and discuss the implications
of this value.
Finally, what effect does the singlemode fibre have on the polarisation of laser light? You
should design a simple experiment to explore this question, using the linear polarisers in rotating
mounts as polarisation analysers, and the photodiode as a detector. It is recommended you use
another coupler on the fibre output end, this time to collimate the outgoing light. This will make
it easier to insert a polariser between the fibre end and the detector, and still have good signal
levels. Some questions you may like to consider are as follows: Is the laser light linearly polarised?
Is the output light linearly polarised, to what degree, and at what angle? To determine the degree
of polarisation, we usually use the extinction ratio, that is, the ratio between the maximum and
minimum power passing the polarisation analyser. The power passing the analyser will depend
on angle following Malus’s law. Does anything change if you change the polarisation of the input
light (±45 degrees from the laser polarisation are good starting points)? What happens if you
change the fibre alignment, such as from coiled to straight?
STOP
STOP
If you still have time left, return to the polarisation experiment to make more
thorough measurements.
Once you have completed the experiment to your satisfaction, tidy up the
bench, returning the apparatus to its original condition, and have your lab-
book initialled by a tutor.
7
References
[1] Keiser, G., Optical Fiber Communications. 3rd ed. McGraw-Hill Series in Electrical and
Computer Engineering: Communications and Signal Processing, ed. S.W. Director. 2000,
Boston: McGraw-Hill. [TK5103.59.K44]
[2] Sharma, A.B., S.J. Halme, and M.M. Butusov, Optical Fiber Systems and Their Components:
An Introduction. Springer Series in Optical Sciences. 1981, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York:
Springer. [TA1800.S47]
[3] Paschotta, R. Fibers. Encyclopedia of Laser Physics and Technology [accessed 9 February
2010]; Available from: http://www.rp-photonics.com/fibers.html.
[4] Gloge, D., Weakly Guiding Fibers. Applied Optics, 1971. 10(10): p. 2252-2258.