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.