An estimation of the baseband transfer function of multimode optical fibers

This paper discusses an alternative criterion for estimating the baseband transfer function of multimode optical fibers. The optical fibers having little mode conversions show that the baseband frequency characteristics are affected strongly by the launching condition of an input optical pulse. In the criterion presented here, the baseband transfer function in such fibers is estimated by considering the launching condition that excites all fiber modes uniformly in amplitudes. In order to obtain such a transfer function, the actual responses affected by the launching conditions are measured together with the modal power distributions for different kinds of launching conditions. A numerical procedure is then presented that enables us to derive the baseband transfer function independently of modal power distributions. Experimental results at λ x= 633 nm and 856 nm are presented for step index fibers (0.1 and 0.2 km long) having a core radius of 30 pm (its refractive index is 1.452) and a refractive index difference of 0.7%.