Optimum intermediate fibers for reducing interconnection loss: exact solution

We derive an exact analytical solution for a transmission line of N single-mode intermediate optical fibers that minimize the interconnection loss between any two dissimilar fiber modes that are well described by that paraxial scalar wave equation. Our solution shows that N optimum intermediate fibers reduce the original interconnection loss by a factor of least 1/(N+1) and that the total interconnection loss is only a function of N and the original direct interconnection loss. Our solution is not restricted to axisymmetric fibers or mode fields and therefore could be useful for reducing the interconnection loss between microstructured optical fibers, between certain slab waveguides, or between fibers and optical sources or detectors.