title: Direct deflection method for determining refractive-index profiles of polymer optical fiber preforms.
abstract: We present a method for determining the refractive-index profile of polymer optical fiber preforms through a direct-deflection measurement. The method is simple to use, compact, and has good resolution. The profile is obtained from the deflection data by numerically integrating the differential-ray equation for a radial refractive-index gradient. Corrections for topographical deviations are also discussed. Results for both graded-index and step-index fibers are presented.
authors.affiliation: Washington State University, Department of Physics, Pullman 99164-2814, USA. bcanfie@mail.wsu.edu
authors.forename: Brian K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Canfield
authors.forename: Christopher S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Kwiatkowski
authors.forename: Mark G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Kuzyk