Abstract

A multimode fiber coupler is a useful component for certain optical communication systems such as the optical data bus. It may be particularly easy to implement in combination with plastic-clad fibers, which by themselves are also well suited for data bus systems. Some plastic-clad fibers [1] have a large numerical aperture (0.4), 2.7 dB/km loss, and one particularly attractive characteristic - the cladding can be stripped off by a sharp blade. This paper describes theory and experiment concerning some simple directional couplers made with plastic-clad fibers for the use in optical data bus systems.

© 1977 Optical Society of America