Determination of the radial profile of the photoelastic coefficient of polymer optical fibers

Sophie Acheroy, Patrick Merken, Thomas Geernaert, Heidi Ottevaere, Hugo Thienpont, Francis Berghmans

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

We determine the radial profile of the photoelastic constant C(r) in two single mode and one multimode polymer optical fibers (POFs), all fabricated from polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). To determine C(r) we first determine the retardance of the laterally illuminated fiber submitted to a known tensile stress uniformly distributed over the fiber cross-section. Then we determine the inverse Abel transform of the measured retardance to finally obtain C(r). We compare two algorithms based on the Fourier theory to perform the inverse transform. We obtain disparate distributions of C(r) in the three fibers. The mean value of C(r) varies from-7.6×10-14 to 5.4×10-12 Pa-1. This indicates that, in contrast to glass fibers, the radial profile of the photoelastic constant can considerable vary depending on the type and treatment of POFs, even when made from similar materials, and hence the photoelastic constant should be measured for each type of POF.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationMicro-Structured and Specialty Optical Fibres IV
EditorsAlexis Mendez, Kyriacos Kalli
PublisherSociety of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers
ISBN (Electronic)9781510601314
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016
EventMicro-Structured and Specialty Optical Fibres IV - Brussels, Belgium
Duration: 4 Apr 20166 Apr 2016

Publication series

NameProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Volume9886
ISSN (Print)0277-786X
ISSN (Electronic)1996-756X

Conference

ConferenceMicro-Structured and Specialty Optical Fibres IV
Country/TerritoryBelgium
CityBrussels
Period4/04/166/04/16

Keywords

  • Polymer optical fiber
  • fiber characterization
  • inverse Abel transform
  • photoelastic constant

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Determination of the radial profile of the photoelastic coefficient of polymer optical fibers'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this