2 Optical Fibers
2.1 Introduction
An optical fiber can be considered as a cylindrical waveguide. Its working principle is based on the total internal reflection, where a beam of light is trapped inside the cylindrical core of the fiber, which is surrounded by a cladding of lower refractive index. Although the phenomenon of total internal reflection is known since 1854 (Tyndall 1854), the first attempt to make optical fiber with glass dates from the 1920s (Baird 1927; Hansell 1930; Lamm 1930). These first optical fibers were unpractical until a significant improvement was made to the guiding characteristics by using a cladding layer surrounding the core layer (Van Heel 1954; Kapany 1959). Because of their high ...
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