Abstract
We propose a poly vinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-clad graded index plastic
optical fiber (GI POF) which exhibits excellent mechanical strength and low
bending loss property. A main concern of PVDF-clad GI POFs is the bandwidth
degradation due to its specific waveguide structure compared to the conventional
poly-methyl-methacrylate (PMMA)-based GI POF. We design the index profile
of PVDF-clad GI POFs to maintain high bandwidth under a restricted mode launch
condition. However, when mode coupling exists in PVDF-clad GI POFs, the bandwidth
can be degraded. Hence, for high bandwidth performance, we investigate a way
to reduce the mode coupling in PVDF-clad GI POFs. We find that the fiber numerical
aperture (NA) is a key factor in controlling the mode coupling. By adjusting
the NA of the GI core region to be as high as 0.17, bandwidth higher than
2 GHz for 100 m distance is achieved by the PVDF-clad GI POF. In addition,
the propagating mode properties of the optimized PVDF-clad GI POF are investigated,
particularly when the fiber is statically bent, because such a fiber bending
can enhance mode coupling. We find that the high bandwidth performance is
maintained in the PVDF-clad GI POF, even under severe bending conditions if
the GI core region has an NA of 0.17.
© 2007 IEEE
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