Experimental Investigations of Transmitting Optical Power in Side-polished Fiber
侧边抛磨光纤中传输光功率变化的实验研究

The performance of optical power transmission through a side polished fiber manufactured by wheel polishing method is investigated,in which materials of different refractive indices were overlaid on the polished surface.The experiments show that the transmitted optical power through the side-polished fiber varied with the refractive index of the overlaid material.When the index of the overlaid materials is lower than 1.437 8, the loss of optical powers in the fiber core is nearly zero.When the index of the overlaid material approaches 1.452 1,the loss of optical power swiftly increased to a maximum.As the increase of the refractive index of the overlaid material continued, the loss of optical power decreased gradually until it reaches at an asymptotic value.It is not truth that the deeper the side-polished is,the higher the loss of optical power is.Optical power loss through side-polished fiber is also wavelength dependent.The result of our experiments fitted well the theoretical calculation.Side-polished fiber manufactured by wheel polishing method can not only be used to control optical power transmission through the fiber core but also be used as a refractive index sensor.