Tunnelling leaky modes on optical waveguides

The lossless dielectric waveguide of circular cross section with an index of refraction greater than its surround supports trapped modes in addition to two subclasses of leaky modes: refracting and tunnelling modes. Refracting modes leak because their fields are formed by waves that undergo refraction at the core-cladding interface. Tunnelling modes leak because their fields are formed by waves that undergo a form of electromagnetic tunnelling at the core-cladding interface due to the curvature of its cross section. Tunnelling modes have a very slow leakage compared to refracting modes and are therefore important for the understanding of propagation in multimode, optical waveguides of circular cross section.