ln the last several years, considerable attention has been paid to the study of dispersion-flattened single-mode fibers which offer a high transmission capacity with low losses through a wide range of wavelengths. However, the existing designs are sensitive to bending and manufacturing tolerances, and are not truly single-mode at most wavelengths of interest. To remedy these problems a new series of broadband dispersion-flattened truly single-mode fiber designs are proposed. These fibers have both dispersion-shifted and dispersion-flattened features with low splice and bend losses. Results demonstrating a total dispersion of ±0.97 ps/km-nm over the entire spectral range between 1.31 μm to 1.66 μm are presented. Such dispersion-flattening is achieved while simultaneously maintaining a mode-field radius of 3 μm to 5 μm in the dispersion-flattened wavelength range. The most significant achievement is that the proposed muIti-clad fiber design is strictly single-mode and splice and bend losses are smaller than those of double-clad, triple-clad, and quadruple-clad fibers with the same value of dispersion. Ultralow dispersion fibers, whose chromatic dispersion and the first and second-order derivatives of the chromatic dispersion are zero at 1.5 μm or 1.55 μm, are described. This effectively increases the laser emission tolerance. Ultralow dispersion fibers open the way to wavelength multiplexing with currently available inexpensive multifrequency lasers, either in local or long distance networks. These fibers also have low splice and bend losses compared to double-clad, triple-clad, and quadruple-cIad fibers. An inverse waveguide synthesis program, which can trace multiple objective functions and optimize multiple parameters simultaneously, is developed. An objective function is applied, for the first time, to optimize the dispersion-flattened single-mode fiber index profile with respect to: (1) minimum dispersion, (2) the wavelengths of zero-dispersion, (3) maximum width of dispersion-flattened window, (4) maximum layer index difference less than 0.8%, and (5) layer thickness larger than 3.5 μm. The accuracy of chromatic dispersion calculations in dispersion-flattened fibers is evaluated. lt has been shown that the accuracy of approximate methods is influenced not only by the index differences, but also by their derivatives with respect to wavelength. The matrix method and direct numerical integration of the wave equation are used to compute the mode propagation constants, cutoff frequencies, field distributions, mode-field radius, and splice loss, and carry out production tolerance analysis for multi-clad step-index fibers and graded-index fibers, respectively. Detailed analysis and optimized fiber data are presented. / Ph. D.

The performance of an optical fiber depends to a great extent on the conditions of the process being used to draw the fiber from a glass preform. To get fibers with higher strength and lower transmission loss, the parameters of the draw process must be optimized and the geometric uniformity of the fiber must be maintained with high precision. To increase the geometric uniformity of the fiber the online fiber diameter measuring accuracy must be improved. The coating concentricity and uniformity also play an important role in fabricating quality fiber. As the fiber drawing speed goes higher and higher, which is the trend of modern fiber fabrication processes, the uniformity of fiber diameter and coating concentricity becomes even tougher to maintain. The main objective of this research has been to understand and develop an optical fiber drawing process that produces fiber with improved dimensional uniformity, higher strength and lower transmission loss. Particular emphasis has been given to the accurate measurement of on-line fiber diameter, which is the first and most important step in obtaining uniform fiber. / Master of Science

Methods designed to improve the practicality of the elliptical-core two-mode optical fiber sensors for use in real-life applications are presented. The improvements include the development of insensitive lead fibers and an optical device which allows fringe counting at the output of the sensor. The insensitive leads eliminate extraneous perturbations and effectively isolate the sensing region. The fringe counting optics are designed to generate quadrature-phase shifted signals, thereby allowing the determination of whether the strain is increasing or decreasing. Work performed to advance the understanding of the effect of sensor placement within a composite specimen is also presented. Optical fiber sensors are embedded between different laminae of a graphite-epoxy composite panel, and the outputs of the sensors are shown to be proportional to the distance of the sensor from the neutral axis. / Master of Science

The main object of the master thesis was to familiarize with optical networks, describe the latest current technology of passive optical networks and create a simple simulation of our chosen technology. This thesis was divided into several parts. The first part deals with passive network architecture. I illustrated the basic functional elements which are present in optical networks. I described the active elements and principles of data transmission in the distribution network. To conclude this chapter I described the different standards that are defined for the passive network. In second part I familiarized myself with key parameters and their adverse effect on the transmitted signal. Another part deals with the new technologies that are defined for the next generation of passive network NG-PON. I described the principles of data transmission in these networks and their advantages and disadvantages. The last part deals with creating custom simulations of technology defined by standard NG-PON using OptSim 05.02 Subsequently I have collated all the results of the various technologies and show the advantages and disadvantages of each.