Analysis of leaky-mode losses for optical fibers

Abstract

We present a direct, rigorous, and fast numerical method for obtaining leaky-mode losses in optical fibers by solely solving complex propagation constants of the characteristic equation of leaky modes. Both the modified Bessel function and the Hankel function of the second kind are individually used to express the field component of leaky modes in the outermost cladding. The characteristic equation of cylindrically symmetric fiber structures, which consist of uniform and graded layers, is derived by combining the Runge-Kutta method and the exact solution of a homogeneous layer. Since complex root searching is the key technique in this method, we also present a numerical algorithm for solving the characteristic equation of optical fibers. Moreover, because for both guided and leaky modes the field distributions in the outermost cladding region have the same expression, the leaky mode can be easily obtained by choosing an improper solution, and therefore the calculation of leaky modes demonstrates the simplicity of this method. An approximation rule of branch choices for lossy material is also derived. The approach we present is consistent with the results of previously published papers.