JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA VOLUME 55, NUMBER 3 MARCH 1965

Coupling of Optical Fibers and Scattering in Fibers*

ALAN L. JONES
International Business Machtines Corporation, Endicott, New York 13764
(Revision received 22 July 1964)

The phenomena of optical coupling of parallel fibers and scattering of light from a fiber due to rough walls
are considered from a mode point of view. With the use of a Green's function, the problems are cast in the
form of integral equations. Coupled ordinary differential equations are obtained which are used to study the
coupling of modes in parallel fibers, including the case when the diameters are slowly-varying functions of the
axial distance. The analysis of the problem of propagation in an optical fiber having rough walls shows that
the various modes in a fiber will couple and that the roughness will cause radiation through the walls of the
fiber. The character of the radiation may be determined if the spatial spectral density of the surface rough-
ness is known.

INTRODUCTION relating the unknown amplitude factors are obtained.

WHENthe diameter of an optical fiber is large
compared to the wavelength of light, the geo-
metric theory of optics has been sufficient to study most
phenomena observed.' 2 However, when the diameter is
of the order of a wavelength, light is guided in wave-
guide modes just as microwaves are guided by a dielec-
tric waveguide. These modes have been photographed
and their characteristics have been studied.'- 5 But
little has been done beyond finding the modes that exist
in an infinitely long, circular dielectric cylinder and
some of the properties of these modes. Snitzer 5 has
reported an approximate solution for the coupling of
two parallel optical fibers. Bracey et al.,7 in their studies
of microwave propagation along dielectric antennas
have also obtained an approximate soultion for this
problem.
This paper presents a method for the approximate
solution of a class of problems in the theory of wave
propagation in optical fibers and examines, in some
detail, the solutions in two particular cases. The
problems considered are (1) propagation in coupled
parallel optical fibers, and (2) propagation in a single
optical fiber whose walls are slightly rough.
The method of solution consists of casting the
problem in the form of an integral equation by using a
dyadic Green's function. Solutions of the integral
equation are assumed to be expressible in the form of a
sum over all of the possible modes which can exist in the
fiber. The amplitudes of these modes are taken as
unknown functions of the axial coordinates. The as-
sumed form of the solution is substituted into the
integral equation and by equating coefficients, equations
* The work in this paper is taken from a thesis by the author
presented to Purdue University in partial fulfillment of the require-
ments for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
1 N. S. Kapany, J. Opt. Soc. Am. 47, 413 (1957).
2 R. J. Potter, J. Opt. Soc. Am. 51, 1079 (1961).
N. S. Kapany and J. J. Burke, J. Opt. Soc. Am. 51, 1067
(1961).
4 E. Snitzer, J. Opt. Soc. Am. 51, 491 (1961).
6
E. Snitzer and H. Osterberg, J. Opt. Soc. Am. 51, 499 (1961).
6 E. Snitzer, Advances in Quantum Electronics (Columbia
University Press, New York, 1961).
7 M. F. Bracey, A. L. Cullen, E. F. T. Gillespie, and J. A. Stani-
forth, IRE Trans. Antennas Propagation AP-7, S219 (1959).
261
These relations are still in the form of integral equa-
tions; however, they involve only the unknown scalar
amplitude factors whereas the original equations are
vector integral equations in several independent
variables. In some cases, the integral equations involv-
ing the amplitude factors can be transformed into an
approximate set of coupled first-order differential
equations. These in turn yield solutions which can be
shown to be very accurate for a wide range of the
variables involved.
To consider the coupling of arrays of parallel optical
fibers, the problem of two coupled fibers is first treated.
A set of coupled first-order differential equations relat-
ing the amplitudes of the various modes in both fibers
is obtained by using the method outlined above. The
solution of these equations shows that the coupling of
the fibers will result in a complete oscillation of energy
back and forth if the fibers have eigenvalues which are
identical. If the eigenvalues are slightly different and
the fibers are relatively far apart, there will be little
transfer of energy. The differential equations can also
be extended to consider arrays of parallel fibers. These
cases are difficult to solve, in general, but the special
case of an infinite line of identical fibers yields a solu-
tion for the amplitude factors in terms of Bessel
functions.
The coupled differential equations can also be used
to study the coupling of parallel fibers whose diameters
vary slowly as a function of the axial distance. For
example, a linear variation in diameter yields a solution
in terms of parabolic cylinder functions. This solution
again shows that there is little transfer of energy
except where the eigenvalues are about equal. The
solution of the linear case yields information about the
coupling in the case of a more general variation.
The other problem, propagation of light in an optical
fiber whose walls are slightly rough, is considered to
determine if the roughness of the wall can cause the
large attenuation observed in small optical fibers.2 It is
found from the analysis that a small amount of rough-
ness can produce rather large attenuation, especially if
the mode under consideration is close to cutoff. If the
profile of the surface is taken to be a sinusoidal function
 262 2ALAN L. JONES
FIG. 1. Propagation constant vs radius for various modes,
nl= 1.8, 12 = 1.5.
of distance along the fiber, energy radiates at a charac-
teristic angle dependent on the spatial frequency of the
profile.
The case of random roughness is also considered, and
the expected angular energy distribution of the scat-
tered radiation can be determined if the spatial spectral
density of the random surface profile is known.
PROPAGATION OF LIGHT IN AN INFINITE
DIELECTRIC CYLINDER
To determine the characteristics of light propagation
in a dielectric cylinder, Maxwell's equations must be
solved in the core and the cladding, subject to the
boundary conditions that the tangential components of
the electric and magnetic field vectors E and H must be
continuous across the boundary. We assume that the
core and cladding materials are nonconducting, iso-
tropic, homogeneous, and linear and that their magnetic
permeabilities ,u are equal. The dielectric constants of
the core and cladding are denoted by e, and e2, respec-
tively. A coordinate system is chosen with a z axis in
the direction of the fiber. Assuming a time dependence
in the form e-iwt and a z dependence in the form eiyz,we
can show that the axial component of E and H must
satisfy a Helmholtz equation in the transverse co-
ordinates. If these Helmholtz equations are solved for
E, and Hz, the complete field can then be written in
terms of these quantities.8 Applying the boundary
conditions, we find that y can take on only certain
values. These values, the eigenvalues of the problem,
will be designated by ynm. For each ''nm there will be
associated E and H fields which are the vector eigen-
functions for the rth mode. Goubau9 has shown that
the eigenfunctions for a dielectric cylinder of arbitrary
cross section are orthogonal. The orthogonality prop-
erty is useful in finding what modes exist at some
distance along a fiber if the transverse E or H field at
one cross section is known.
8 J. A. Stratton, Electromagnetic Theory (McGraw-Hill Book
Company, Inc., New York, 1941).
9 G. Goubau, Proc. IRE 40, 865, (1952).
Vol. 55
Specializing to the case of a circular cylinder with
the usual cylindrical coordinates r and 0, we find that
the Helmholtz equations can be satisfied by taking
E: and Hz proportional to Bessel functions multiplied
by a factor of eill where n=0, 11, - - -. In the core, the
Bessel function Jn[En(r/a)] is chosen and in the cladding
the modified Hankel function KE[v(rla)] is chosen.
The radius of the cylinder is a. These are required to
satisfy the condition that the field be finite at the axis
and that it decay properly as r becomes large. Substitut-
ing the solutions into the boundary conditions, we
obtain a set of four linear, homogeneous equations for
the determination of four constants. Setting the de-
terminant of this system equal to zero yields the
following dispersion relation':
gn('y)= [-4(-l)n/a'Tr][(vJnKn+UJnKnt)
X (vk 12 Jn'Kn+uk 2
JnKn') - n
2
'y2J2 2 K. 2 R4 ] = O,
2
(1)
where the prime denotes differentiation with respect to
the argument. The argument of Jn is u and that of Kn
is v. The quantities u, v, kj, and R are given by
u= a(k2 - y2 )t, v= a(y2 -k 2 2 )`, R 2 = u2 +V2 , k 32 =W2Mej.
Equation (1), when solved for oy, yields the possible
propagation constants-ynm for the cylinder.
A program has been written for an IBM 7094 com-
puter to compute the roots of Eq. (1) given the indices
of refraction of the core and cladding and the radius-to-
wavelength ratio. Time required for the computer to
find one root is approximately 0.5 sec. The indices of
refraction of the two media are related to the quantities
kj by
nj= k/ko,
where
ko2 =w2 eo= (27r/X.)2,
and eois the dielectric constant for free space and Xois
the wavelength of the light under consideration in free
space. With the notation of Snitzer,4 the variation of
'y with radius is shown for the lower-order modes in
Fig. 1. In this notation the axially symmetric modes are
designated by TEom (transverse electric) and TMom
(transverse magnetic). Hybrid modes are denoted by
HEnm and EHnm. (it designates the orders of the Bessel
functions that occur in the solution and m indicates
which root is found for each value of n.) As noted, the
index i can take on the values 0, z4l, i2, *- -. When
i is a positive integer, it denotes a mode which spirals
clockwise as it progresses along the guide while a nega-
tive value of X denotes a counter-clockwise spiralling
mode. These spiralling modes are akin to the skew
rays in the geometric theory, which follow roughly
helical paths. A mode with positive n can be combined
with a mode with negative n to form the modes dis-
cussed by Snitzer4 that are characterized by sines and
cosines in the 0 variable.
March 1965 COUPLING AND SCATTERING
In Fig. 1, note that regardless of how small the guide,
there is always at least one mode which may propagate.
This is the HE11 mode with which electrical engineers
are familiar in studies of dielectric antennas. Notice
that the HE21 and the TMo1 modes have identical
propagation constants at one point. This is of impor-
tance when considering the fiber as a waveguide, since
these two modes will not propagate independently, but
will be strongly coupled in the presence of small
irregularities. Miller10 has shown this in the case of
ordinary waveguides.
In Fig. 1, the points where the line for any mode
intersects the a/Xo axis indicate the cutoff value for this
mode. The values of u near and far from cutoff are given
by Snitzer.4 In a geometric-optics sense, "near cutoff"
means that the characteristic "rays" of the mode are
close to the critical angle. "Far from cutoff" means that
the rays are almost parallel to the axis of the fiber.
SURFACE DYADIC GREEN'S FUNCTION
The previous section was concerned with the propa-
gation of electromagnetic waves in an infinitely long,
isolated dielectric cylinder with no regard for how the
waves were initiated. Consider now the effect of a
point current on the wall of the cylinder as the initiating
source of the waves. The resulting field may be inter-
preted as a surface dyadic Green's function which is
useful for casting problems into integral equations. In
the theory of scalar waves the Green's function is a
scalar quantity. It represents the field produced by a
scalar point source. When considering electromagnetic
waves we are concerned with vector fields and vector
sources in the form of currents. Therefore, it is necessary
to find a quantity which, when multiplied by the source
and integrated over the volume which encloses the
source, will yield a vector quantity. A dyadic is such
a quantity.
We define a dyadic Green's function G which repre-
sents the effect of a point current on the wall of an
infinite fiber at the point 6==o, z=zo. This Green's
function can be determined analytically by taking the
solution as a Fourier transform on the z variable and a
Fourier series in the 0 variable. Applying the boundary
conditions, we obtain an integral representation for
FIG. 2. Path of integration when z>z0.
10 S. E. Miller, Bell System Tech. J. 33, 661 (1954).
IN OPTICAL FIBERS 263
FIG.3. Geometry of two-fiber problem.
G. Each term in the integrand has the quantity gn(,y)
in the denominator. Using complex integration and
recognizing that the poles of the integrand are zeros
of gn(-y), we can obtain a representation for G in
terms of a sum over the propagating modes plus an
integral which represents the radiated field. The
integral arises from the integration along a branch cut.
The path of integration in the -y plane is shown in Fig. 2.
An example of this type of integration is shown by
Tamir and Oliner1' in their study of waves in a plasma
layer.
COUPLING OF PARALLEL FIBERS
We consider the propagation of electromagnetic
energy along two parallel, dielectric, circular cylinders.
Figure 3 shows the geometry of the problem in which
the fibers are assumed to extend to infinity in each
direction. The dielectric constant of the interior of the
fibers will be designated as El while that of the sur-
rounding space will be e2. It is necessary to solve
Maxwell's equations in- the three regions subject to
boundary conditions at the surfaces of the cylinders.
By choosing a time dependence of the form e-id{,
Maxwell's equations can be converted to the vector
Helmholtz equation
V2E+k? 2
E= O. (2)
Besides satisfying Eq. (2), the divergence condition
must be satisfied, along with the boundary conditions
that the tangential components of E and H must be
continuous across the boundaries of the fibers.
If the fibers are very far apart, we would expect the
fields associated with each fiber to be independent.
However, when they are close together the field in one
fiber affects the field in the other. This interdependence
can be expressed mathematically in terms of integral
equations. The integral equations are obtained through
the use of the dyadic Green's function, the boundary
conditions, and the vector Green's theorem.
n, xEl s -M
+J [(n xE 2 )*(V x G,)+icA(n 2 xH 2)*Gl]dS 2 , (3)
T2
llT. Tamir and A. A. Oliner, Proc. IEEE 51, 317 (1963).
264 ALAN L. JONES
n2 xE2 S2=-M2
+y E(n xE,) *(v xG2)+ico/u(n x H1) *G2]dS,.
In Eqs. (3) and (4), the quantities Ej and H3 denote the
values of these fields at the boundaries of fiber j; Mi is a
source term which represents the field due to the condi-
tions which prevail on a cross section at z= - -. Eqs.
(3) and (4) represent two integral equations for the
four quantities nj x E3 and nj x Hj(j= 1,2). Two addi-
tional integral equations may be obtained by using a
magnetic Green's function instead of the electric one
as was done here. A magnetic Green's function repre-
sents the field produced by a point magnetic current
on the boundary instead of an electric current as in the
case of the electric Green's function.
A solution is obtained in the form of a sum over all
of the modes of each fiber. Since the coupling of the
various propagating modes is being considered, the
contribution to the field caused by the continuous
spectrum is neglected. We show later that this is a
good assumption except when a mode is close to cutoff.
Each vector eigenfunction in the assumed solution is
multiplied by an unknown function of z. The same
unknown amplitude functions must be used in the
expansion of the E field as for the H field. Because of
this, the integral equations obtained using the mag-
netic Green's function are redundant and need no
longer be treated. Thus, the two integral equations
(3) and (4) will be used for the determination
two sets of unknown amplitude functions.
The E and H fields at the boundary of the jth fiber
are expressed as
Ej(aj,Oj,z)
= u (+)(z)E.j(aj,Oj jy.nm/j)nmj
nm
Hi (aj,oj,z)
Unmj(+)(z)HEmj(ajOj; ynmj)/Nl.nmj
n,m
+ , n7mj(- (Z)H,,mj(aiOj;Ynmj)/Nvnm,
where Enmj and Hnmj are the vector eigenfunctions.
The quantities Unmj(+) (z) and Unmj(-) (z) are the
variable mode amplitudes which are to be determined.
The plus sign indicates forward-traveling waves and
the minus sign indicates backward-traveling waves.
Normalization constants Nnm have been used so that
the energy flow in the jth fiber is given approximately
by the expression:
Sustiz)u I( thej(+) (Z)
exp-resionm
j(-) (Z)a
Substituting the above expressions for E and H in the
Vol. 55
integral equations and equating coefficients we obtain
a set of coupled integral equations in the unknown
(4) functions unm(±+)(z).These integral equations can be
converted to an equivalent set of coupled first-order
differential equations by differentiation
dutlm 1+)(z)
iynmlunml(+) (Z)+i Z [Iklm2(+)UkZ2( (Z)
dz k,1
+,3kl,,.2( )UI12( ) (Z)], (7)
d=-i()- ynmiUnmi )(Z)-i Z E83kl.nm2( )Ukl2()(z)
dz k,l
+f0klnm2(+)Ukl2( ) (z)], (8)
with a similar set of equations relating the derivatives
of U.nm 2 (±) to the amplitudes of the modes in fiber 1.
The constants f3kl.,j(+) are coupling constants which
are obtained from the representation for the Green's
function by integrating the field of a mode in one guide
over the surface of the other guide.
Equations (7) and (8) describe the coupling of each
mode in one fiber with all the modes in the other fiber.
The coupling constants l3k.nmj(±) give a measure of the
magnitude of the coupling. When the fibers are far
apart, the coupling constants are small and in the
limit, as the distance between the fibers approaches
infinity, the equations uncouple; the solution is:
of the Unj (±) (z) =A nmj( )exp4iYnm jZ. (9)
It can be shown by examining the coupled differential
equations that the coupling will not be pronounced
except when the propagation constant of a mode in one
fiber is close to the value of a propagation constant in
the other fiber. In addition, a forward-traveling mode
in one guide will be coupled weakly to a backward wave
in the other guide. Therefore, it is only necessary to
consider coupling of forward modes which have approxi-
mately the same propagation constants. This is a com-
mon simplification in the theory of coupled waves.10
The continuous spectrum can also be neglected in the
analysis, because it is characterized by a propagation
6
parameter which is a variable but never has a value near
that of the propagating modes. The only exception is
the case when a propagating mode is near cutoff.
Because of this and also because the coupling constants
1nmklj(±)are not necessarily small for modes near cutoff,
radius-to-wavelength ratios which produce modes near
cutoff will be excluded in the following.
COUPLING OF SIMILAR FIBERS
It has been shown that the coupling of the modes in
two parallel fibers will be weak unless the propagation
H t
constants are close to the same value. This can occur
when the radii of the two fibers are nearly the same.
March 1965 COUPLING AND SCATTERING
Since the propagation constants are discrete in most
cases, we only have to consider coupling of the two
HEm or EHnm modes in fiber 1 to the two HEnm or
EHnm modes in fiber 2. There are two of each mode, one
characterized by a positive value of n and the other by a
negative value. There are certain cases (Fig. 1) when
the propagation constants for two different modes are
equal. These cases will be excluded in the following
analysis.
By converting from modes characterized by e-i-n to
modes characterized by sin nO or cos nO, the coupled
differential equations can be written in the following
form:
dul/dz= iYlUl+i/U2 (10)
du2/dz= iY2"2+i3U 1 , (11)
where yj represents the propagation of the mode under
consideration in the jth fiber and / is the coupling
constant. The above set of equations can be written for
the sinnOmodes and the cosnOmodes with only a change
in the magnitude of A.The modes characterized by sinnO
in one guide do not couple with the cosnO modes in
the other.
We can easily solve the pair of equations (10) and
(11). The variation of the energy in each guide is given
by the absolute-value-squared of the mode amplitudes.
These quantities are plotted in Fig. 4, where K=
23
(-Yl-Y2)/ . Notice that when the guides are identical,
K=O and there is a sinusoidal oscillation of energy, the
frequency of the oscillation being fl/7r cycles per unit
length. When the diameters of the guides are not the
same, K#DOand the energy transfer is not complete.
To justify, in part, some of the assumptions made in
the formulation, the problem of the coupling of two
parallel dielectric slabs was studied. Since the slab
problem can be solved exactly, it was possible to com-
pare the solution with an approximate solution ob-
tained in the manner used in the present problem. It
was found analytically that when the slabs are far
E2
.5 S.0
FIG. 4. Energy in two mrallel coupled fibers.
IN OPTICAL FIBERS 265
FIG. 5. Comparison of solution for coupling constant with experi-
ment of Bracey. Open circles indicate experimental values of 613
while solid circles indicate experimental values of 3s. n,=1.6,
n2 = 1.0, a/Xo = 0.2146.
apart, the solutions are nearly equal. In order to find
how close the slabs can be and still have reasonable
accuracy, the coupling constants were compared nu-
merically; good agreement resulted even when the
slabs were touching.
Bracey et al.7 have determined theoretically and
experimentally the coupling between the HE,, modes of
parallel dielectric waveguides. Their theoretical results
were obtained by using the resonator-action theorem of
MacLean.'2 The results obtained here have been used
to compute the coupling constants (see Appendix) and a
comparison is made with the experimental results of
Bracey in Fig. 5. Again there is good agreement even
when the guides are touching. The theoretical curves
agree with those of Bracey, but because of the com-
plexity of the analytic expressions, it cannot be deter-
mined if they are equivalent in all cases. Bracey's result
is just for the HE,, modes in identical guides. The
solutions developed here may be used to compute the
coupling between any modes in dissimilar guides. The
coupling constants 3c and /3- are plotted as functions
of d/a in Fig. 6 for the HE,, modes.
The agreement between the exact and approximate
solutions in the case of two parallel slabs and between
the approximate solution and the experimental results
in the case of two cylinders helps support the assump-
tions made. In particular we can conclude that (1)
the continuous spectrum does not contribute much to
the coupling and (2) coupling with only one mode at a
time need be considered.
INFINITE LINE OF IDENTICAL FIBERS
We can extend the above analysis to the case of more
than two fibers by considering the coupling between
every pair of fibers in the array. First, we assume that
the presence of a third fiber does not appreciably alter
the coupling between two fibers. Then, in general, the
12W. R. MacLean, Quart. Appl. Math. 2, 329 (1945).
266 ALAN L. JONES
I IX'
FIG. 6. Coupling constants for HE,, modes in two
parallel fibers. i,= 1.8, n2 = 1.5.
coupled equations become
deij
-=z='jluj+i E fjkllk, (12)
dz kidj
where we are considering only the coupling of ssome
mode in the jth fiber with the same mode in all olL the
other fibers. If it is assumed that there is significant
interaction only with a fiber's nearest neighbors and
consider the case of an infinite line of identical fil)ers,
the equations can be solved in terms of Bessel functiLIons.
Considering the case when the energy in fib er 0
equals 1 at z= 0 and there is no energy in the o,ther
guides at this point, the energy in the jth guide can
be written
Ej(z)= itj(z)I2=Jj2(20z). (13)
This energy distribution is plotted for the first few
fibers in such an infinite array in Fig. 7.
The solution of the infinite array is of limited im-
portance in the field of fiber optics; it is quite difficult
to make identical fibers, and we are usually more
interested in two-dimensional arrays of fibers rather
than in a single line. However, the above result would
help in the analysis of large arrays of dielectric antennas.
TWO GUIDES OF VARYING PROPAGATION
CONSTANTS
Each fiber has been considered to have a constant
diameter. In an actual fiber array, the diameters of the
Vol. 55
individual fibers will vary with distance along the
bundle. Since there is strong coupling only in those
regions where the diameters are the same, the net
coupling between two parallel fibers will be less than in
the case in which the diameters are the same through-
out the length of the bundle. This effect is discussed by
Kapany and Burke.'
When the rate of change in diameter of a fiber is
small compared to the diameter, we can neglect the
coupling of modes within a fiber and consider the
propagation constant to be a function of the diameter
and hence of the length along the fiber. This can be
shown to be a valid assumption as long as the diameter
change is restricted so that the mode under considera-
tion does not go through cutoff.
Again, considering one mode in each of two parallel
fibers, the coupled equations become:
dul/dz= it12+i±YI(z)U1,
du2/dz=iiu+ i-Y2(Z)U
2, (14)
where the yj are now functions of the axial coordinate.
Equations (14) cannot be solved for a general varia-
tion of ryIand 'Y2. The case when Yi and -Y2 are linear
functions of z is solvable, however, and lends insight
into the more general case. It would be expected that
the energy would propagate in the two guides almost
independently except in the region where the propaga-
tion constants are close to the same value. A position
where the propagation constants are equal will be
referred to as a "zero crossing."
Consider the case where 7y and 'Y2 are given by
1.0II
.8
. -\
.4
.2
o .5 1.0
I
.2
E,02
0 .5 1.0
FIG. 7. Energy in center fibers of an infinite line of fibers.
March 1965 COUPLING AND SCATTERING
Yyi-o+zai, 72=eyo+za2. The solution of Eq. (14) can
be expressed in terms of parabolic cylinder functions." 3
If we assume that at z= - o the energy in fiber 1 equals
unity while the energy in guide 2 equals zero, the energy
partition as a function of z is given by the absolute-
value-squared of these functions
El(z) = I UI(z) 12= c Di, (OZV-10i/4)l2 12
E 2 (Z) = I U2 (Z) 12= ve-,rv 2
ID 2i-.,(fzv-Je3 ri/4 )
where v=32/ (al-a2) and D,(z) is a parabolic cylinder
function. Ei(z) and E2 (z) have been plotted as func-
tions of z in Fig. 8. These graphs were plotted by using
the asymptotic expansions when |z is large, and the
power series for the functions for small z. If the slopes
of the two propagation constants differ greatly, there
will be little energy transfer. Alternatively, if a, and ca2
are nearly equal, almost all of the energy will be
transferred to the other guide.
While this analysis is restricted to the case of a linear
variation in the propagation parameters, it lends in-
sight into the more general case. It was shown that,
as suspected, there is little transfer of energy except in
those regions where the propagation parameters are
about equal. Given two parallel optical fibers: if the
number of places where the radii were the same, and
the rate of change of the diameter at each zero crossing
could be determined, an estimate of the energy trans-
fer could be obtained.
PROPAGATION IN A FIBER WITH ROUGH WALLS
Consider an infinitely long dielectric "cylinder" of
dielectric constant E, imbedded in a medium
electric constant E2. The surface of the cylinder is taken
at a variable distance from the axis. We assume that
the distance from the axis to the rough surface is only a
function of the length along the guide. In addition, only
axially symmetric waves will be considered.
The distance from the axis to the rough wall a(z) is
expressed as
a(z) = aO[I+ ef (z)]
where ef (z) is the roughness perturbation of the smooth
wall. It will be assumed that
|E «<<1 and that I daldz I<<I.
To find the electric field both inside and outside of
the fiber, the vector Helmholtz equation must be
solved subject to the conditions that the tangential
electric and magnetic fields must be continuous across
the rough boundary.
Using the dyadic Green's function for the perfect
cylinder and the vector Green's theorem, the problem
13W. Magnus and F. Oberhettinger, Special Functions of Mathe-
matical Physics (Chelsea Publishing Company, New York, 1949).
IN OPTICAL FIBERS 267
---
.8.28
E,
o4-- 2 -- .
I 0 1 - \ --- I
RZ
l2 (15)
FIG. 8. Transfer of energy in two fibers which have linearly
varying propagation parameters.
can be cast in the form of an integral equation. Since
we are considering only axially symmetric waves, we
will use only the axially symmetric part of the Green's
function (i.e., the n=O terms). This modified Green's
function represents the field due to a ring current on
the surface of the cylinder. Since the Green's function
and the field E are defined in slightly different regions
(due to the surface roughness), the region of definition
of E is extended to aid in the formulation. To do this,
we assume that the field quantity is sufficiently smooth
near the rough boundary so that its value can be extrap-
olated to the boundary of a fictitious smooth guide of
radius ao. It is at this boundary r= ao that the source
in the Green's function is located.
A procedure similar to that used in the section on the
coupling of fibers is used to obtain an integral equation
for the field at the surface of the smooth guide. Using
of di- the fact that the boundary perturbation ef(z) and its
derivative are assumed small, the boundary conditions
can be expanded in a Taylor series. Only terms of the
order of E are retained. A discussion of the procedure is
given by Miles.'4 Performing this expansion and insert-
ing the result into the integral equation, we obtain an
integral equation in terms of the field evaluated at the
fictitious smooth boundary. This expansion also in-
troduces the roughness function f(z) and its derivative
(16) into the integrand. The resulting integral equation can
be split into two separate problems, one involving TE
waves and the other TM waves. The following will be
devoted to solutions for the case of TE waves.
The solution is taken as a sum over the propagating
modes plus an integral which represents the continuous
spectrum. Each propagating mode is multiplied by an
unknown amplitude function um(±)(z) while the con-
tinuous spectrum involves the unknown amplitude
function v(+) (z ;a).
Substituting the assumed form of the solution into the
integral equations, we obtain a set of coupled integral
equations in the unknowns um(+)(z) and v(±)(z;a). We
give here one of the integral equations as an example of
14J. W. Miles, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 26, 191 (1954).
 268
their form.
it,,,) (z) = AN53NmeXP(iyNZ)+iE f (zo)
X - )(Zu)]+ |
0nmlu-n(+)(zo)+un
X [v(+) (zo; a)+v(-) (zo; a)]da} eiTm(2-O)dzo.
The quantities fnm and am(a) are known.
The problem has been reduced to solving a set of
integral equations. While it is not likely that an exact
solution is obtainable from the set, the form of the
equations suggests that an iterative technique will be
profitable. However, it will be observed that in certain
cases the first-order term may become quite large.
When this happens, the iterative solution is no longer
valid. An approximate solution may be found, in those
regions where the first-order term is large, by recourse
to a set of differential equations obtained from the
integral equations.
For the zero-order solution to the integral equations,
a single propagating mode of amplitude AN is chosen.
The first iteration then yields values for
and v(+)(z ;a) once f(z) is known. For example,
is given by the expression
It.(+) (z) = A mJNmei'ym
+ieil N/3NmeeiazJ f(zo)exp[(iYN-yjl~zo]dzo.
A form of roughness which is convenient to work with
but is rather idealized when considering physical
situations is a sinusoidal roughness. Let f (z) be taken as
f(z) = sin(Qz), Q&=27r/X,
where X is the wavelength of the roughness.
We find upon substituting Eq. (19) into the iterated
solution that the first-order terms are small except
when Q is near the values
Q = |N-Ym , Q =YN±_Ym.
That is, if the spatial frequency of the roughness of the
wall is equal to the sum or difference of the frequencies
of any two propagating modes, there will be large
coupling of these modes. In this case, a finite amount of
energy will be transferred from the Nth mode to the
mth mode, thus negating the assumption that the Nth
mode travels undiminished through the length of the
fiber. When Q is near one of the values mentioned above,
a more general solution must be sought. This can be
accomplished by considering the coupled differential-
integral equations instead of the iterated solution of the
integral equations.
COUPLING OF MODES
As has been noted, strong coupling between the
Nth and mnth modes only occurs when the quantity
ALAN L. JONES Vol. 55
HYNhymI -2-Q is small. When the coupling between the
Nth and mth modes is strong, there will be little
coupling between the Nth mode and any other mode as
long as the propagation constants of the mth and any
other mode are not close to the same value. The graph
,(a) of Ynm Vs a/Xo (Fig. 1) shows that for TE modes, the
propagation constants are always fairly far apart
(17) except when the diameter of the guide is large. There-
fore, we need only consider coupling between two modes.
In this case, the coupled integral equations can be
replaced by the equivalent set of differential equations
(letting n= 1, mn=2, and, 312= 3 for convenience):
duj/dz= iTyiui+ief(Z)13u2,
du2 /dz=iVy2"2+ieff(Z),13. (21)
Again with the consideration of sinusoidal roughness,
an approximate solution has been obtained for the
set of Eqs. (21) by an expansion technique. The
solution obtained is valid in those regions where the
iterated solution becomes large. We find that there is an
oscillation of energy from one mode to the other in a
manner similar to the energy transfer in parallel fibers.
By referring to Fig. 4, which shows the oscillation of
umi±)(z)
energy in parallel fibers, we can see how energy oscil-
Um(+)(z)
lates between modes. In this case, the two curves repre-
sent the energy in modes 1 and 2. The parameter K is
given by the expression
(18)
and the 1 in the abscissa must be replaced by 0.5 efi.
In the limiting case when K= 0, there will be a complete
transfer of energy from one mode to the other. A
numerical example has shown that there can be a com-
plete transfer of energy from one mode to another in
0.011 cm with a value of 0.01 for e in a 1-,-diam fiber.
If this seems like a fairly short distance, it should be
realized that 0.011 cm is 110 times the diameter of the
fiber.
(20) RADIATION FROM THE WALL OF A FIBER
To determine if the wall roughness can cause energy
to be scattered from the fiber, the far field (the field
when r is large) must be considered to see if it repre-
sents radiation. Since the propagating modes are
characterized by a mode shape which decays exponen-
tially with increasing r, they can be neglected in the
representation for the far field.
With use of the saddle-point approximation, the far
field can be obtained in terms of an integral involving
the wall-roughness function
Eo (Y,z) = i cA f(Zo)exp(iyNzo) C1 (r, z-zo)dzo, (22)
where Ci(r,zo) is a transfer function obtained from the
saddle-point approximation.
March 1965 COUPLING AND SCATTERING IN OPTICAL FIBERS 269

As a special case, we again consider a sinusoidal

roughness function. The integration in Eq. (22) can be
carried out (again using a saddle-point approximation).
We find that the radiation from the fiber is very de-
pendent on the wavelength of the roughness. Integrat-
ing the energy flow over a control volume, we find that
the rough wall causes an exponential decay of the mode
under consideration. The attenuation constant B is
plotted in Fig. 9 as a function of the wavelength of the
roughness. Also, the radiation propagates at a charac-
teristic angle. This angle depends on the frequency and
is given by
6=tan {(YN-$Q)[k2 - ('yN-2)2'-}. FIG. 10. Expected angular energy distribution, band-limited
white noise, n,= 1.8, n2= 1.5, ao/Xo= 1.0, ao/X =4.0, arrow indi-
The angle 6 is measured from the normal to the axis in cates direction of light in fiber.
the plane made by the axis and the normal.
The energy in the Nth mode will be reduced to eel of
possible to obtain certain moments, for example, the
its initial value after traveling the distance L=B-1. A
mean value of the Poynting vector. We assume that the
numerical example provides an estimate of the amount
second-order properties of the random process which
of attenuation which roughness can cause. Taking a
describes the rough surface are known. The roughness
fiber with ao/Xo=1, nl=1.8, and n2=1.5 (Fig. 9),
function f(z) is taken as a second-order random process
and choosing the wavelength of the roughness to be
and will be denoted by F(z). It is assumed to have zero
equal to the diameter of the guide, ao/X=0.5. For this
mean and to be weakly stationary."
value, BalE2 equals 2.5 for the first mode. Taking a
The expected value of the Poynting vector (P) is
1-A-diam fiber and choosing E=0.01, we find that
obtained by taking the expectation of the absolute
L=0.20 cm. That is, the first TE mode in a 1-,4-diam
value of Eq. (22) squared. We then see that if the auto-
fiber has its energy reduced by a factor of e-l after
correlation function of the roughness F(z) is known,
traveling 2 mm. (Note: the above analysis shows that (P) can be found. Writing the autocorrelation function
there will be no radiation from the guide if the wave- as the Fourier transform of the spatial spectral
density
length of the roughness is very short compared to the
SF(0) of F(z), we can write (P) in terms of an integral
dimensions of the fiber or if it is very long.)
over SF(0) times a transfer function. This transfer
RANDOM ROUGHNESS function is found to be the radiated field produced by a
sinusoidal roughness of spatial frequency U. By a
Since an actual fiber would not be expected to have a change of variable, (P) can be written as an integral
roughness in the form of a simple sinusoid, the effects of over an angular cordinate 0 instead of the frequency
a randomly rough wall on the transmission properties of variable Q. We then observe that the integrand gives
an optical fiber have been considered. an expression for the expected value of the Poynting
Because of the random nature of the roughness vector in the interval 0, O+dO,where 0 is measured as
function, we cannot expect to obtain explicit repre- above. This expression is called the expected angular
sentations for the field quantities. Instead, it is often energy distribution.
The expected angular energy distribution is plotted
in Figs. 10, 11, and 12 as a function of 0 for different
spatial spectral densities, with AN 2 = 1. Figure 10
shows that the expected angular energy distribution is
symmetric about 0=0 when the spectrum is band-
limited white noise, and the cutoff frequency is greater
than -yN+k2.The quantity X,is the value of the wave-
length at the cutoff frequency. Plots for the two TE
modes which exist when a/Xo= 1 are shown. Photo-
graphs of optical fibers indicate that the radiation is
greater in the forward direction. A more realistic
spectrum, namely
SF(0)= (,,,2)' -1 exp -Q/29 2),
0 I cA a Gaussian distribution, resulted in the expected
FIG. 9. Attenuation constant vs reciprocal of roughness wavelength, 15E. Parzen, Stochastic Processes (Holden-Day, San Francisco,
ns= 1.8, n2 = 1.5, a0 /1X0=1.0. 1962), p. 70.
 270 ALAN L. JONES Vol. 55

angular energy distribution shown in Fig. 11. We see

that the distribution is now predominately in the
forward direction as anticipated. Figure 12 shows the
distribution for the second TE mode when the diameter
of the fiber is double that used in Fig. 10, while the
wavelength of the light is held fixed. The number and
position of the lobes in the distribution depend on the
fiber diameter and not on the roughness function; this
could be used as the basis for a method of measuring
the diameter and the uniformity of very small fibers.
Besides causing radiation from a fiber, a randomly
rough wall causes the various modes to be coupled.
This problem is more difficult since we must deal with
differential equations whose coefficients are random
functions. A perturbation technique has been applied
to the problem to obtain an estimate of the magnitude
of the mode coupling. This analysis shows that a sig-
nificant amount of energy may be transferred from one
mode to another in about the same distance that a
mode's energy may be reduced by a factor of e-l due to
radiation. It is apparent that separating the phe-
nomena of mode coupling and radiation, as has been
done here, may not be valid in certain cases. If the
fiber can support only one mode, the analysis should be
quite accurate. Even in the case of multimode fibers,
the above analysis lends insight into the transmission
characteristics. By considering the radiation effect
alone, we might conclude that to minimize energy loss
we need only transmit light along a fiber in a mode
which is far from cutoff. (Recall that the radiation
patterns show that a mode close to cutoff is attenuated
rapidly.) However, a mode which is far from cutoff will
be continuously coupled to modes closer to cutoff
FIG. 12. Expected angular energy distribution, band-limited
white noise, nj=1.8, n,2=1.5, ao/Xo=2.0, ao/X0 =8.0, arrow indi-
cates direction of light in fiber.
APPENDIX: COMPUTATION OF COUPLING
CONSTANTS
The computation of the coupling constants used in
Eqs. (7) and (8) involves an integration of the vector
eigenfunctions of fibers 1 and 2 at the surface of fiber 2.
Since this integration cannot be performed simply, it is
convenient to obtain approximate expressions for the
constants. We have done this by using the asymptotic
expansions for the Hankel functions and an addition
theorem for Bessel functions. Because asymptotic
expansions are used, the expressions obtained are good
only for the case when the guides are relatively far
apart. However, there is good agreement with experi-
mental data even when the guides are almost touching.
The expression for the coupling constants will be
written out here for the case of identical guides, where
the same mode is considered in each fiber. The coupling

(V)
V2
which have a larger attenuation. Therefore, the initial constants zinc and En are given by the expressions
mode would lose energy faster than would be predicted
by considering only the radiation. f.c= b.(d)k22, (Al)
2 2
inS-= b,(d)P yn , (A2)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS where
The author gratefully acknowledges the help and 2a,,(- l)nu2e-vdla
advice given to him by Dr. S. J. Citron and Dr. J. C. (A3)
a,, (-y,) K2
Samuels of Purdue University. a,,
g . (^Yn) 2 2
- nJn Kn R2

Pu 2v 2kl 2 [J,,/Kn+D4ztD2 ]d/dYE[J 'K.+Di=FD 2]

(A4)
60° d 1 1 n2
-EjnKl+DjFD22=,ya2-J'K,,+- 1--) JnK,
dL U2 u 2l
70e

+-Jn'Kn' +Di':FD2', (A5)

v)
80 where
ya2 eF
D'= -JnKn'(vl2 +2u2) - w24,'Kn
1v3
FIG. 11. Expected angular energy distribution, Gaussian spectral
density, it = 1.8, 12 = 1.5, ao/Xo= 1.0, ao/X0 = 1.0, arrow indicates +vue2(1+-)J,1 Kn ]
direction of light in fiber.
March 1965 M
COUPLING
1965 AND SCATTERING IN OPTICAL FIBERS 271

R2 e= (kl2+k22)12k12
D2'= -[-yaa~u-1J, D'D
21J.D -1D3]
2
2k, a D1= uv-rJ.K,'e,
D 2 = (2k ca2)-'JnR2D
3i
2
D3t=2ya 2Kf+u2v[ v-rK,,+ (1+-)Kn]
K,'v-4 |V{-2 2 2
D3= U V- K ' 2+4u-2v- 4 2
n y 2ki2 K 2 4
a,

and P is the quantity defined by Snitzer.4

-u 2 KK' + 8112 yk1 2 ir2 v- 4Ka
K 4
{ y a V-'Kn'+ Kn
2 2 The s and c superscripts denote modes characterized
by sinnO and cosnO, respectively. For the EH modes,
the upper sign is taken in (A4) and (A5) while the lower
sign is taken for the HE modes. Quantities TALand Ens
O OF A2M2
ERIC have been plotted in Fig. 5 for the HE,, mode.

JOURNAL OF THE: OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA VOLUME 55, NUMBER 3 MARCH 1965

Infrared Filters of Evaporated Gallium Arsenide

R. P. HowsON
Allen Clark Research Centre, Plessey-UK Limited, Caswell, Towcester, Northzamptonshzire,England
(Received 15 July 1964)

Films of gallium arsenide have been produced by vacuum evaporation on to amorphous substrates and
their optical properties have been measured. A simple, effective way of evaporating gallium arsenide is de-
scribed. The design of absorption filters using evaporated semiconductor films of high refractive index is con-
sidered and the manufacture and properties of such a filter are described.

INTRODUCTION single-crystal and polycrystalline form; the high vapor

SEMICONDUCTORS,
by virtue of their electronic
structure, act as long-wavelength-pass filters. The
transition between no significant absorption and high
absorption can take place over a very narrow wave-
length range. Notable among the semiconductors for
this property are the so-called direct-gap III-V com-
pounds. A further feature of these materials is the
high value of absorption at short wavelengths. Direct-
gap III-V compounds, either pure or mixed are known
over a range of energy gaps from 2.0 to 0.15 eV, from
a gallium arsenide-gallium phosphide mixed compound
to indium antimonide. The corresponding wavelength
range is from 6200 A, within the visible spectral region,
to 8 A. There is evidence that a continuous variation
within this range is possible, using pure and mixed
compounds of gallium arsenide, indium phosphide,
indium arsenide, gallium antimonide, and indium
antimonide.1 An extension to shorter wavelengths may
be possible by use of compounds with boron or alumi-
num as the group III element and nitrogen from group
V.
Optical measurements on III-V compounds are
generally reported for single-crystal materials and
have shown absorption coefficients on the short-
wavelength side of the absorption edge between 103
and 104 cm: 1, with refractive indices between 3 and 4.
In many cases the compounds are difficult to prepare in
I E. K. Miller and J. L. Richards, J. Appl. Phys. 35, 1233
(1964).
pressure of the volatile component over the molten
compound makes complex apparatus necessary if
stoichiometry is to be maintained when material is
grown from the melt. This difficulty is accentuated if
a mixed-compound crystal is to be grown.
For optical-filter applications, the high absorption
coefficient of these materials would permit thin films
to be used, which may be more easily prepared than
the bulk material. III-V compounds in thin-film form
have been prepared by vacuum evaporation and vapor
transport.1 ' 2 Vapor transport, using reaction on the
substrate surface to form the compound, has the limita-
tion that high temperatures are often needed at the
substrate, which is not compatible with easily available
amorphous substrates, like glass, and is not readily
adapted for producing large-area films, which are
desirable for filters. Vacuum evaporation onto amor-
phous substrates has been studied,'l and some optical
measurements reported,'' 6 but with little detail.
2 R. K. Willardson and H. L. Goering, Compound Senmicon-
ductors Vol. 1. "The Preparation of III-V Compounds" (Reinhold
Publishing Corporation, New York, 1962).
3K. G. Gunther, Compound Semiconductors Vol. 1. "Vaporiza-
tion and Reaction of the Elements," (Reinhold Publishing
Corporation, New York, 1962), p. 313.
4C. Paparoditis, Compound Semiconductors Vol. 1. "Evapora-
tion of the Compound," (Reinhold Publishing Corporation, New
York, 1962), p. 326.
'R. F. Potter and G. G. Kretschmar, J. Opt. Soc. Am. 51,
693 (1961).
6 S. Martinuzzi, Compt. Rend. 253, 1157 (1961); 255, 110
(1962).