Image transport using Anderson localized modes in disordered optical fibers

Abstract

An optical fiber with a transversely disordered yet longitudinally invariant refractive index profile can propagate a beam of light using transverse Anderson localization. A launched beam of light into the disordered optical fiber expands till it reaches its localization radius beyond which it propagates without further expansion. In contrast to a conventional single-core optical fiber in which a propagating beam of light can only couple to and propagate in the core, the beam of light can be coupled to any point at the tip of the disordered fiber. This property originated from the localized highly multimodal property of disordered optical fibers that can be used for high quality optical image transport. We experimentally compare the quality of the transported images in the disordered polymer optical fibers with those transported through the multicore imaging fibers, as well as conventional single core fibers. The impacts of source wavelength and refractive index difference between the disordered sites on the quality of the transported images in the disordered optical fibers is studied numerically. The role of randomness in improving the quality of transported images is investigated by comparing the full vectorial modes of a disordered fiber with those in a periodic multicore fiber.