Design parameters of fiber-optic bend for sensing applications

Abstract

The usefulness of losses in fiber optics depends on its application. Losses may be the worst scenario when they rocket up until zero power output. Attenuation in fiber optics can come from its attenuation coefficient, absorption, scattering, and extrinsic effects. Bending losses are extrinsic effects influencing the power loss in a single-mode step-index fiber. The loss of optical power in a single mode due to bending has been investigated at 1550 nm. The variations in macrobending loss have been measured in terms of the curvature radius and the number of turns. Results show that loss decreases as the bending radius increase and the number of turns decrease. This investigation may show the parameters of single-mode optical fiber and can be proposed for a fiber-optic bending sensor in the future.