Patent attributes
The present invention concerns an optical fiber acting as a slab-coupled waveguide. The optical fiber has a cross-section comprising a core (1), which is two dimensional and responsible for the horizontal confinement of the fiber's fundamental mode. A slab (2) is placed in the vicinity of the core (1). The slab (2) extends substantially in a plane, acts as a mode sink for the core, and is at least three times wider than the core (1). A cladding (3) surrounds the core (1) and the slab (2). The cladding (3) is made of one or several materials with refractive indices lower than the core and slab materials. The core (1), slab (2) and cladding (3) and any other protective or supportive structures attached to them form an overall structure that determines the mechanical properties of the fiber. The cross-section of the fiber is formed to make the fiber significantly more flexible in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the slab than in the plane of the slab.
