title: Capturing a reflective cross-sectional image of an optical fiber with partially coherent laser light to measure the refractive index profile of a multimode optical fiber.
abstract: We focused partially coherent laser light onto an optical fiber end-face and captured a high-quality reflective cross-sectional image of the fiber. By analyzing the reflected light intensity distribution of the captured fiber image, we can achieve refractive-index profiling of a step-index multimode optical fiber. The measurement error caused by the reflected light from the other fiber end-face positioned in air can be greatly improved by inserting that end of the fiber into water. This simple and easy technique for fiber index profiling by employing reduced-coherence laser light is very useful in determining the refractive index profiles of various multimode optical fibers.
authors: Department of Electrophysics, National Chiayi University, Chiayi 60004, Taiwan. fwsheu@mail.ncyu.edu.tw
authors: Fang-Wen
authors: FW
authors: Sheu
authors: Heng-Jian
authors: HJ
authors: Jhang
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D007834:Lasers; D055100:Optical Fibers; D010783:Photometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012031:Refractometry / Q000295:instrumentation*