The paper contains description of chosen aspects of analysis and design of tailored optical fibers. By specialty optical fibers we understand here the fibers which have complex construction and which serve for the functional processing of optical signal rather than long distance transmission. Thus, they are called also instrumentation optical fibers. The following issues are considered: transmission properties, transformation of optical signal, fiber characteristics, fiber susceptibility to external reactions. The technology of tailored optical fibers offers a wider choice of the design tools for the fiber itself, and then various devices made from these fiber, than classical technology of communication optical fibers. The consequence is different fiber properties, nonstandard dimensions and different metrological problems. The price to be paid for wider design possibilities are bigger optical losses of these fibers and weaker mechanical properties, and worse chemical stability. These fibers find their applications outside the field of telecommunications. The applications of instrumentation optical fibers combine other techniques apart from the photonics ones like: electronic, chemical and mechatronic.

Date Published: 6 October 2011
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 8008, Photonics Applications in Astronomy, Communications, Industry, and High-Energy Physics Experiments 2011, 80081X (6 October 2011); doi: 10.1117/12.906486

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8008:
Photonics Applications in Astronomy, Communications, Industry, and High-Energy Physics Experiments 2011
Ryszard S. Romaniuk, Editor(s)