2023/11/07 by Jiawei Xu, Xu, Jiawei, Xiaosheng Xiao +1
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies #Advanced Fiber Optic Sensors #FOS: Physical sciences #Optics (physics.optics) #Photonic Crystal and Fiber Optics
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2311.04004
openalex publication_date 2023/11/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Multimode fibers (MMFs) have found wide application across various fields, such as optical communications, mode-locked lasers, and endoscopy. However, the practical use of MMFs is limited by the challenges posed by fiber bending, which leads to mode coupling. In this study, we present evidence that MMFs possess principal modes, named curved principal modes, that can resist significant bending. These curved principal modes are identified by extending the Wigner-Smith operator to curved MMFs, and are demonstrated for arbitrary bending by numerical simulations. These findings have substantial implications for mode-divide-multiplexed optical fiber communications, MMF-based endoscopy, and other related applications.