RADIATION LOSSES IN GLASS OPTICAL WAVEGUIDES

F. P. Kapron, D. B. Keck, and R. D. Maurer

Citation: Appl. Phys. Lett. 17, 423 (1970); doi: 10.1063/1.1653255
View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1653255
View Table of Contents: http://apl.aip.org/resource/1/APPLAB/v17/i10
Published by the American Institute of Physics.

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APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS

VOLUME 17, NUMBER 10

I.0I,J ~.
I.<P I
x' 0 ',A

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\~
' \

.
I

- - x 0051 METER PLAIN BOTH

CHARGEFLUENCE '" 0.5
MICRO COULlCM 2

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i \" - - - 0
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(f)

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DOSIMETER WITH 2 %
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DEPTH (gm/CM 2 )

FIG. 4. Effect of reduced conductivity on dose profile

at intermediate charge fluence.

ing mechanism, we have added 2% of a positive

charge trap, triphenyl amine, to our solid dosimeters. If the sign of the conductive species during
the prompt conduction phase is as previously observed for the delayed current in polystyrene, 11
large quantities of easily ionizable organics may
tend to reduce the prompt conductivity and, hence,
reduce the charge fluence necessary for field
build-up. Figure 4 compares exposures at 0.5 IJ.C/

15 NOVEMBER 1970

cm2 on material with and without added triphenyl

amine. Clearly this result confirms the contribution of radiation-induced conductivity to internal
field relaxation. The majority carriers during the
prompt phase of radiation-induced conductivity are
positive as are those observed in the delayed component.
Further experiments on the effect of additives
and of bulk breakdown on the dose depth profiles
are underway.
I would like to thank Paul Beeson and Corinne
Peralta for valuable technical assistance in this
work.

*Work supported by the U. S. Atomic Energy

Commission.
IBernhard Gross, J. Polymer Sci. 27, 135 (1958).
2H. Lackner, I. Kohlberg, andS.V:-Nablo, J. Appl.
Phys. 36, 2064 (1965) .
3J.E~RauchandA. Andrew, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci.
NS-13, 109 (1966).
~rnhard Gross and S. V. Nablo, J. Appl. Phys. 38,
2272 (1967).
5J. Dow and S.V. Nablo, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci.
NS-14, 231 (1967).
~A. Harrah, Radiation Res. 39, 223 (1969).
7L.A. Harrah, Radiation Res. 41, 229 (1970).
8R. G. Kepler (unpublished).
9W . H. Buckalew and L. D. Posey, Electron Beam
Diagnostics: Part I, SC-RR-69-512 (1969), Sandia
Laboratories, Albuquerque, N. M. (unpublished).
IOH.E. Boesch, Jr. and A.S. Hill, IEEE Trans. Nucl.
Sci. NS-16, 124 (1969).
liE. H. Martin and J. Hirsch, Solid State Commun. 1"
279 (1969).

RADIATION LOSSES IN GLASS OPTICAL WAVEGUIDES

F.P. Kapron, n.B. Keck, and R.n. Maurer
Research and Development Laboratories, Corning Glass Works, Corning, New York 14830
Received 7 August 1970
Measurements show that single-mode waveguides can be constructed which have radiation
losses of about 7 dB/km-very close to the intrinsic material scattering loss. These waveguides, with total losses between 60 and 70 dB/km, have permitted the measurement of bending losses which become dominant at radii of curvature of a few centimeters. An approximate
theory based on bending a rectangular guide appears to represent the circular waveguide
results very well.

Two distinct types of loss are encountered in

dielectric optical waveguides, absorption loss,
and radiation loss. Losses in the first category
are brought about in the glass waveguides primar
ily by transition ion impurities and will not be discussed in this letter. Instead, two types of radiation losses are investigated, intrinsic material
losses and bending losses.
Several hundred meters of single-mode glass

optical waveguides were made for this work, with

a core diameter of 3-4 IJ.m and a cladding-core
diameter ratio of approximately 60: 1. The two
30-m sections which were investigated had a total
loss of between 60 and 70 dB/km. The lowest
value of total attenuation observed in all waveguides constructed for this work was approximately
20 dB/km, measured at a 632. 8-nm wavelength.
An important part of the study of radiation loss
423

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VOLUME 17, NUMBER 10

APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS

in optical waveguides is an evaluation of the intrinsic scattering of the glass itself. Glass compositions have been chosen that minimize this in the
waveguides discussed here. Quantitative evaluation of the light scattering coefficient for the bulk
glasses was made through measurement and interpretation of the large-angle scattering. I This
method assumes that the scattering arises entirely
from inhomogeneities that are small compared to
a wavelength, which is well justified in good optical quality glasses. Data were taken at 546 nm
and translated to other wavelengths using the ~-4
dependence.
The intrinsic scattering loss coefficient for a
waveguide Ps is computed from the bulk scattering
loss coefficient PI and {32 and the fractional powers
PtiPT and P 2 /P T of the core and cladding materials,
respectively, by use of the equation
( 1)

where PT=P I +P2 Using fractional powers computed from waveguide theory plus mode pattern
observations and the bulk scattering values obtained, an intrinsic waveguide scattering loss
coefficient, f3s = 5 1 dB/km at 632.8 nm, was
calculated from Eq. (1).
Measurements of the various losses in the waveguide were all made using a He-Ne laser at
632.8 nm focused on the guide end. The guide was
passed through an index fluid to remove unwanted
cladding modes and thereby insure that light
propagating in the measured sections of the guide
was in the HEll mode. Light in all cases was detected using an integrating sphere and photomultiplier. The intrinsic radiation loss in the waveguides was measured by passing a straight section
of guide through the integrating sphere. The radiated light intensity, the transmitted intensity, and
the length of guide from which the radiated light
was measured yield the total radiation loss coefficienL The value measured for the sections of
waveguide investigated was 7 2 dB/km, in reasonable equality with the above value predicted from
the bulk glass scattering measurements.
In the preceding comparison, diffraction loss
has been ignored, which is reasonable for the
large cladding-core diameter ratio of these waveguides. There is extremely weak evidence of any
additional radiation loss, such as from diameter
variations. 2.3 Waveguides can be constructed free
from large inclusions and free from significant
radiation loss other than the intrinsic material
scattering.
The losses due to bending of rectangular waveguides in a plane parallel to either side of the
guide have been discussed by Marcatili and Miller. 4
The simple argument assumes that in a guide with

15 NOVEMBER 1970

radius of curvature R, light at the guide velocity

v maintains its phase across a plane normal to the
axis. Therefore, energy beyond a distance
(2)

from the axis attempts to exceed the intrinsic

velocity v 2 in the cladding medium and radiates
away by diffraction. An extension of this argument
shows that the bending loss ratio for two different
curvatures is
(3)

where (3(R) is the bending loss coefficient for a

radius of curvature Rand P(x) is the transverse
power integrated out to distance x. The ensuing
calculations use these rectangular guide formulas
but employ operating characteristics of circular
guides. As an example, for Xo equal to 10 core
radii, the corresponding bend radius R is equal
to about 6 cm; the critical distance Xo decreases
still more with further bending.
Bending losses in the waveguides were measured
using the equipment employed for scattering losses
in straight waveguides. A 10 to 30-m length of
waveguide was coiled in a circle of a given diameter in a plane and place inside the integrating
sphere. For a given coil diameter, the scattering
intensity, the transmitted intensity, and the input

1200

1100

I
GUIDE A

1000

GUIDE B

.B RADIATION
f3 ABSORPTION
'" f3 TOTAL

...

900
80

700
~

600

"-

.0

<Il.

500

400
300

20
100

FIG. 1. Bending loss versus radius of curvature for

two single-mode waveguides.

424

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APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS

VOLUME 17, NUMBER 10

10.0

\'

\
1.0

- 0 - GUIDE A
-e- GUIDE B

\\---.~~'

.s(R)
.s(R')

\
\

\
\

e\
\

\
\

0.01

\
\

0.0010r-----i;---:t---.!c----t.----.'n----T.
R (em)

FIG. 2. Bending loss ratios versus radius of curvature. The theoretical curves are based on a rectangular
waveguide model which predicts an exponential change
with bend radius.

intensity were measured. From these data the

total, the radiation, and the absorption loss coefficients, f3t, {3,., and {3., can be obtained for several
different coil diameters.
The loss coefficients measured for two different
waveguides are shown in Fig. 1 plotted against
bend radius. A characteristic waveguide parameter U may be defined given the core radius a,
the core and cladding indices nl and n2 , and the
wavelength ~
U =(21Ta/>.) [n~ _ n~ll /2.

The best estimate from mode pattern observation

places it at U =1. 31 for waveguide A and U =1. 22
for waveguide B. As would be expected, the higher
U value and therefore better confined power for
waveguide A gives rise to equivalent bending
losses occurring at a smaller radius of curvature.
It is noted that for large radii of curvature the
radiation loss approaching the intrinsic scattering
loss measured previously. The absorption loss increase with decreasing bend radius may be the
error inroduced in subtracting two large numbers,
{3. ={3t -(3r.

\ ..\,

0.1

15 NOVEMBER 1970

Figure 2 shows ratios of the measured bending

loss obtained from Fig. 1. The bending loss increases exponentially with increasing curvature.
The function P(x) was calculated for these guides
and used in Eq. (3) for the rectangular guide to
approximate the theoretical bending loss. The
result is also shown in Fig. 2, with theoretical
and experimental curves normalized to the same
value. The theoretical curves are very sensitive
to the waveguide parameters used; however,
agreement with the experimental curves appears
quite good.
The preceding measurements show that waveguides can be constructed which have radiation
losses very close to the intrinsic material scattering loss. These waveguides have permitted the
measurement of bending losses which become dominant at radii of curvature of a few centimeters.
An approximate theory based on bending a rectangular guide appears to represent the circular
waveguide results very well.
The authors are indebted to Dr. P. C. Schultz
for glass composition work and to Dr. F. Zimar
for waveguide construction help and L. L.
Carpenter for technical assistance.
I R . D. Maurer, J. Chern. Phys. 25,1206 (1956).
2A.W. Snyder, IEEE Trans. MTT-17,1138 (1969).
3D. Marcuse and R. M. Derosier, Bell System Tech.
J. 48,3217 (1969).
4E.A.J. Marcatili and S.E. Miller, Bell System Tech.
J. 48,2161 (1969).

425
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