Optics Communications 250 (2005) 84–94

www.elsevier.com/locate/optcom

Classification and properties of radiation and guided modes

in Bragg fiber
Intekhab Alam, Jun-ichi Sakai *

Faculty of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University, Noji-higashi, Kusatsu-city, Shiga 525-8577, Japan

Received 24 September 2004; received in revised form 7 February 2005; accepted 8 February 2005

Abstract

This article classifies modes into radiation and guided modes in a Bragg fiber, which has a cylindrically symmetric
and periodic structure. Classification of the above modes into TE and TM modes is possible by considering the enve-
lope of cladding fields and by noting a particular parameter relating to Bloch wavenumber. In particular, discussions
are made for electromagnetic fields of radiation mode, contour curves concerning to the distinction between guided and
radiation modes, and optical confinement. It is shown that radiation modes in this fiber distribute for discrete spectrum
of propagation constant unlike the index-guiding optical fiber.

2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Bragg fiber; Photonic crystal fiber; Hollow optical fiber; Radiation mode

1. Introduction cal confinement. The conventional index-guiding

fiber has a high refractive index core surrounded
Silica-based optical fibers have attained their by a low index cladding. Its guiding principle is
ultimate loss and have been used widely. Plastic fi- based on the total internal reflection and the light
bers have also been put into practical use. Two in- penetrates into the cladding region. It is desired to
built drawbacks of the conventional optical fibers get an optical fiber where optical wave is strongly
are material absorption loss and dispersion. Intro- confined in the core.
duction of the erbium-doped fiber reduced this loss One trial of strong optical confinement is the
problem. Loss and dispersion also depend on opti- use of photonic crystal fibers [1,2] having the peri-
odic structure. Among them, optical wave in
Bragg fiber is guided on the basis of the Bragg dif-
*
Corresponding author. Fax: +81 77 561 2663. fraction due to the periodic cladding [3,4]. The
E-mail address: [email protected] (J.-i. Sakai). main feature of the Bragg fiber is its hollow core,

0030-4018/$ - see front matter
2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.optcom.2005.02.043
 I. Alam, J.-i. Sakai / Optics Communications 250 (2005) 84–94 85

which is surrounded by a high refractive index

media with a specially designed cladding material.
The Bragg fiber is supposed to have lower material
absorption loss and overcome the problem of opti-
cal confinement. This hollow core property of
Bragg fibers may have future prospects.
Bragg fibers have been fabricated [4–6] and the
present fiber makes use of high cladding index of
4.6 [5]. From the practical point of view, it is desir-
able to use the refractive index as low as possible.
The Bragg fiber has a complicated cladding
structure compared to conventional optical fibers. Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of Bragg fiber. rc, core radius; nc,
refractive index of core; na and nb, indices of layer with
Hence, it is significant to determine an optimal fi-
thickness a and b, respectively; K = a + b, period in the
ber structure from the theoretical point of view. cladding; ra,m and rb,m, relative radial coordinates for cladding;
The Bragg fiber has been analyzed using the trans- am and bm, amplitude coefficients for cladding layers ‘‘a’’ in TE
fer matrix method [3]. An approximate analysis mode; a0m and b0m , amplitude coefficients for cladding layers ‘‘b’’
method using the asymptotic expansion has been in TE mode. For TM mode, am and bm should be replaced by cm
and dm, respectively.
presented to get solution with moderate amount
of calculations [7–9]. These works were mainly de-
voted to deriving eigenvalue equations and electro- We treat the TE and TM modes as our main
magnetic fields. It is also important to investigate study of this paper. Maxwell equations in the
properties of radiation modes for determining the cylindrical form have been used to derive the solu-
lower limit of the index difference between clad- tion for this fiber. Wave components to be con-
ding bilayers. Although a leakage of optical power nected at interfaces are given by
has been mentioned for Bragg fiber [3,10], a deeper


Hz TE
Ai
understanding is needed. ¼ U tz Di ðrÞ ð1Þ
iEh Bi
In this paper, electromagnetic fields for both
radiation and guided modes are widely discussed for TE mode. Here, Utz = exp[i(xt
bz)] denotes
by considering the cladding field. Calculations the spatio-temporal dependence with b being the
are made using an asymptotic expansion analysis propagation constant and z the propagation direc-
[9]. It will be pointed out that a key parameter, tion of wave. DTE
i ðrÞ is the 2 · 2 representation ma-
Re(XS), is useful for distinguishing radiation from trix whose elements are Hankel functions in the
guided modes. Re(XS) is tightly related to the opti- core region. The elements in the cladding region
cal confinement. Contour curves of Re(XS) is also are expressed by the asymptotic expansion and
shown to estimate the permissible deviation from correspond to forward and backward waves [9].
the quarter wave stack (QWS) condition, namely Ai and Bi are the amplitude coefficients and their
the optimal confinement condition. subscripts are designated by c for the core. They
are replaced by am and bm in the cladding ‘‘a’’ re-
gion while the prime is added to them to express
2. Basic theory on Bragg fiber the amplitude coefficients for the cladding ‘‘b’’
region.
Schematic structure of a Bragg fiber is shown in For TM mode, field components, Hz and iEh, in
Fig. 1. Here, nc is the refractive index of the core, Eq. (1) must be replaced by Ez and iHh. Amplitude
and na and nb denote the indices of cladding re- coefficients, am and bm, should be replaced by cm
gions ‘‘a’’ and ‘‘b’’, respectively. In addition, rc is and dm, respectively, in the cladding ‘‘a’’ region.
the core radius, and a and b are the cladding mate- Eigenvalue equations in the Bragg fiber consist
rial thicknesses. The period in the cladding is of two kinds of equation: The first eigenvalue
K = a + b. equation holds for the matched value of the wave
86 I. Alam, J.-i. Sakai / Optics Communications 250 (2005) 84–94

at the core-cladding interface [9], as is the case of Amplitude coefficients am and bm in the clad-
the conventional optical fiber. ding ‘‘a’’ region, and a0m and b0m in the cladding
S ‘‘b’’ region are shown in Appendix A.
J 00 ðjc rc Þ jc fc ½expð
iK j KÞ
X S
Y S 
þ ¼ 0;
J 0 ðjc rc Þ ija fa ½expð
iK Sj KÞ
X S þ Y S 
ð2Þ
3. Classification of radiation and guided modes
where based on the cladding fields

1 for TE mode;
fi ¼ ð3Þ 3.1. Relationship between cladding fields and
1=n2i for TM mode:
Re(XS)
Here, the suffix S applies to TE or TM mode, and
the subscript i applies to a, b and c. J0 is the Bessel Using Eqs. (1) and (A.1) and after some math-
function of order 0 and the order 0 corresponds to ematical manipulation, cladding fields for TE
the azimuthal mode number m of TEml or TMml mode can be written in the following matrix form
mode. The prime for J0 indicates differentiation [9]:
with respect to its argument. sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi


Bloch wavenumber K Sj in Eq. (2) is determined Hz 2
from the wave periodicity in a periodic cladding ¼ Utz exp½
iðm
1ÞK TE
j K
iEh r¼r pji r
according to the Floquet theorem [11]. The phase

1 1
factor expð
iK Sj KÞ constitutes the second eigen- 
value equation ixl0 =ji
ixl0 =ji



qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi expð
iji ri;m Þ 0 a1
expð
iK Sj KÞ ¼ ReðX S Þ  ½ReðX S Þ
1
2  :
0 expðiji ri;m Þ b1
ðj ¼ 1; 2; S ¼ TE or TMÞ: ð4Þ ð7Þ
Here, j = 1 applies to the upper sign and j = 2 to
Here, l0 is the magnetic permeability of vacuum.
the lower sign in the double sign notation. Lateral
Relative radial coordinates, ra, m and rb, m, for
propagation constants for each region are defined
cladding layers ‘‘a’’ and ‘‘b’’ are defined by
by
ra, m = r
[rc + (m
1)K] and rb, m = r
[rc + a +
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2 (m
1)K]. The exponential terms in the matrix
ji  ðni k 0 Þ
b2 ði ¼ a; b; cÞ ð5Þ
element represent the fine behavior in the clad-
with k0 = 2p/k0 being the vacuum wavenumber ding fields.
and k0 the vacuum wavelength. In Eqs. (2) and Bloch wavenumber K TE j in the first exponential
(4), we set translational matrix elements as term of Eq. (7) is common over the entire cladding

  region and dictates whether the wave is propagat-
i fb jb fa ja ing or decaying along the r direction. This K TE
X S ¼ cosðjb bÞ
þ sinðjb bÞ j also
2 fa ja fb jb relates to the value of Re(XS), which is inferable
 expð
ija aÞ; ð6Þ from Eq. (4).

  Regime where |Re(XS)| < 1, corresponds to
i fb j b fa j a
YS ¼
sinðjb bÞ expðija aÞ: real K Sj . This condition makes the first exponen-
2 fa j a fb j b
tial term an oscillatory one and results in the
Eq. (4) tacitly includes the propagation constant radiation mode [9]. Then the second eigenvalue
b. By solving Eqs. (2) and (4) simultaneously, Eq. (4) becomes a complex quantity and pro-
we can get b, electromagnetic fields and other duces two Bloch wavenumbers, K S1 and K S2 , out
characteristics. In particular, XS is the key of phase by 180 with a real value. From
parameter for featuring several properties, as this fact we can get two Bloch wave numbers
can be found later. of quasi radiation modes as
 I. Alam, J.-i. Sakai / Optics Communications 250 (2005) 84–94 87

2qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi3 whose naÕs are 3.0 and 2.0. Using these parameters
2
1 1
½ReðX S Þ
ReðK S2 Þ ¼ tan
1 4 5 we have found a plot of Re(XS) versus normalized
K ReðX S Þ propagation constant b/k0 (see Fig. 2). The radial
mode number l in TE0l and TM0l modes is la-
¼
ReðK S1 Þ: ð8Þ beled in order of decreasing b/k0 value. From these
This means that quasi radiation mode is consti- data we get an idea that large na value cannot pro-
tuted by superposition of forward and backward duce any situation of radiation mode because
waves. Electromagnetic fields can be found by Re(XS) <
1 is always satisfied for na = 3.0. For
adding the field corresponding to two K Sj . na = 3.0 both TE and TM modes have six guided
On the other hand, |Re(XS)| > 1 regime repre- modes. However, keeping the other parameters,
sents K Sj a complex quantity, which yields a decay- such as nb, nc, nt, k0 and rc, same and reducing na
ing function in the cladding. The decaying value from 3.0 to 2.0, we can get the radiation
property governs guided waves and growing func- modes. In case of na = 2.0 and rc = 5.0 lm, the
tion is not acceptable. In the guided mode either TE mode has one quasi radiation mode below
K S1 or K S2 is used. |Re(XS)| = 1 corresponds to just the guided region whereas the TM mode has two
the cutoff as well as the photonic bandgap edge. and one radiation modes, respectively, above and
These three cases about |Re(XS)| can be found by below the guided region under the scale of b/k0.
properly choosing the refractive indices and thick- Radiation modes are obtained for discrete b spec-
nesses of the cladding material, as is seen from trum. This is a remarkable contrast to the usual in-
dex-guiding fiber whose radiation modes distribute
ReðX S Þ ¼ cosðja aÞ cosðjb bÞ for continuous b values [12]. So, the radiation


1 fb j b fa j a mode in the Bragg fiber will be referred to as the

þ sinðja aÞ sinðjb bÞ; ‘‘quasi radiation mode’’.
2 fa j a fb j b
In the presently used theory, the cladding layers
ð9Þ
are assumed to extend infinitely. If the cladding
where S = TE or TM. Eq. (9) includes only clad-
ding parameters.

3.2. Parameters prescribed in calculation

It will be fixed in the present simulation that

nc = 1.0, nb = 1.5, operating wavelength k0 =
1.55 lm and rc = 5.0 lm. Here, we have used the
quarter wave stack (QWS) condition from which we
have calculated the cladding layer thickness a and b as
p
i¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ði ¼ a; bÞ: ð10Þ
2k 0 n2i
n2t
The tentative effective refractive index is defined by
nt ” b/k0. For na = 2.0 and nb = 1.5, we can get
a = 0.211 lm, b = 0.305 lm and K = 0.517 lm at
nt = 0.8. In addition, we have a = 0.134 lm for Fig. 2. Re(XS) vs. normalized propagation constant b/k0 for TE
na = 3.0 and nt = 0.8. and TM modes. rc = 5.0 lm and nt = 0.8. Parameters nc = 1.0,
nb = 1.5 and k0 = 1.55 lm are fixed in all calculations. Solid and
dashed lines indicate data for TE and TM modes, respectively,
3.3. Characteristics of Re(XS)
using Eq. (9). Symbols indicate the position of b for which
eigenvalue equation (2) is satisfied for given parameters. Solid
Before starting to discuss about Re(XS) we have symbols indicate guided modes while open symbols indicate
studied on two configurations of Bragg fibers, quasi radiation mode.
88 I. Alam, J.-i. Sakai / Optics Communications 250 (2005) 84–94

layer is limited to a finite thickness, all modes tend radiation modes and two guided modes: these
to tunnel through the confinement region in the two are very close to the cutoff.
Bragg fiber [3,10] and the holey fiber [13]. Then The line of Re(XS) =
1 can be told as the line
modes become leaky and can have complex values of cutoff [14], since for this value of Re(XS) the
of b, imaginary part of which relates to the power electromagnetic field just goes to quasi radiation
attenuation. However, radiation loss decreases mode, as shown later. Another interesting point
exponentially as the number of cladding layers in- is that the number of quasi radiation modes
creases [10]. The present theory shows that the increases as na value decreases (see Fig. 3).
Bragg fiber can produce radiation modes even in Re(XTM) for TM mode is shown in Fig. 4 as a
the infinitely extending cladding. function of na. The lower-order mode in TM mode
We see from Fig. 2 that the TM mode is in- exhibits a small |Re(XTM)| for relatively large na
clined to become cutoff more than TE mode be- value unlike the TE mode, as can be seen from
cause |Re(XTM)| of TM mode is less than that of Figs. 3 and 4. This opposite characteristics can
TE mode. In addition, it should be noted that be also explained from the slope of each curve in
Re(XS) for b = 0 shows an identical value for TE Fig. 2. |Re(XTM)| value decreases with decreasing
and TM modes and it depends only on na value the na value. Radiation mode appears for
under the prescribed values. This is because the na < 2.23 in case of TM01 mode. The lower limits
value inside parentheses in Eq. (9) reduces to of na for TE05 and TE06 are 1.62 and 1.89, respec-
(nb/na + na/nb) for the above case of both modes. tively. This is due to the fact that the TM mode
Fig. 3 shows the presence of radiation modes tends to become cutoff.
from the perspective of refractive index contrast
and reveals that radiation mode can be found for 3.4. Electromagnetic fields for TE and TM
na < 2.11 and nb = 1.5 in case of TE06 mode. We radiation modes
see that six TE0l modes for na values of 2.0 and
3.0 correspond to symbol positions in Fig. 2. Electromagnetic fields for several modes shown
Re(XTE) vs. na curves are crossing with decreasing in Fig. 2 will be illustrated here. Fig. 5 shows the
na. If na value is reduced to 1.6, then we get four radiated electromagnetic fields of TE06 mode for
na = 2.0 and rc = 5.0 lm up to 40 cladding pairs

Fig. 3. Re(XTE) vs. refractive index contrast for TE mode. Fig. 4. Re(XTM) vs. refractive index contrast for TM mode.
na = 1.6 to 3, rc = 5.0 lm and nt = 0.8. Data for TE01 to TE06 Parameters are same as those in Fig. 3. Data for TM01 to TE06
are arranged according to the order of radial mode number l in are arranged according to the order of radial mode number l in
the right hand side. the right hand side.
 I. Alam, J.-i. Sakai / Optics Communications 250 (2005) 84–94 89

to elucidate the oscillatory waves in the envelope

of the cladding field. The period of the cladding
field envelope is about 7.56 lm which is much
longer than the cladding period K = 0.517 lm.
For comparison, both electric and magnetic
fields for guided mode are shown in Fig. 6 with
same number of cladding pairs. Fields strongly de-
cay in the cladding region and penetrate into only
10 cladding layer pairs. Envelope of the cladding
field decays exponentially along the r direction.
An na value was sought for which b satisfies not
only eigenvalue Eq. (2) but also Re(XTE) @
1 for
given parameters. Two candidates, TE01 and TE05
modes, can be found near na = 1.78 from Fig. 3.
Electromagnetic fields of TE01 quasi radiation Fig. 6. Electromagnetic fields, iEh and Hz, for guided TE05
mode. Parameters are same as those in Fig. 5 except for
mode at nearly cutoff are shown in Fig. 7 up to Re(XTE) =
1.0332, b = 2.405977 lm
1 and b/k0 = 0.594.
40 cladding pairs. Envelope of the cladding field
monotonically pand ffiffi slowly decays in proportion
to roughly 1= r. This type of quasi radiation
mode can not be found in the usual index-guiding
fiber.
In order to compare with electromagnetic fields
for quasi radiation mode, Fig. 8 illustrates those of
TE01 mode at nearly b . 0 where eigenvalue Eq.
(2) is satisfied for na = 2.5 and rc = 0.898 lm.
Although fields in this case penetrate into the clad-
ding a little bit, they decay in the cladding. This
fact is very contrast to the usual index-guiding fi-

Fig. 7. Electromagnetic fields, iEh and Hz, at nearly cutoff for

quasi radiation TE01 mode. na = 1.78, rc = 5.0 lm,
K = 0.549 lm, k0 = 1.55 lm and nt = 0.8. Re(XTE) =
0.9998,
b = 3.974714 lm
1 and b/k0 = 0.981.

ber where field spreads up to the infinity at the

lower limit of b [12]. This is because an approxi-
mate QWS condition is still maintained for b . 0
in the present Bragg fiber. In fact, Re(XTE) is equal
to
1.0585 in this case. Whether a certain mode is
guided or not depends on the Re(XTE) value rather
than b/k0 in the Bragg fiber.
Fig. 5. Electromagnetic Fields, iEh and Hz, for quasi radiation
TE06 mode. na = 2.0, rc = 5.0 lm, K = 0.517 lm, k0 = 1.55 lm Electromagnetic fields for TM06 quasi radiation
and nt = 0.8. Re(XTE) =
0.9771, b = 1.289430 lm
1 and b/ mode are shown in Fig. 9 up to 40 cladding pairs.
k0 = 0.318. Fiber parameters are the same as those in Fig. 5.
90 I. Alam, J.-i. Sakai / Optics Communications 250 (2005) 84–94

TM modes near the QWS condition [9]. This

means that guided modes are always obtained near
the QWS condition. There is a question; How
much shift can be permitted from the QWS condi-
tion to get guided modes?

4.1. Contour curve of Re(XTE) for TE mode

The contour line of Re(XTE) will be figured out

using Eq. (9), which can provide result without the
mode designation. To get a clear concept about the
contour line, two types of contour diagram will be
generated. Fig. 10 shows the first contour diagram
where ja and jb are kept constant while cladding
Fig. 8. Electromagnetic fields, iEh and Hz, at nearly b . 0 for layer thicknesses, a and b, are varied. This diagram
TE01 mode. na = 2.5, rc = 0.89863 lm, K = 0.469 lm, k0 = is symmetrical with respect to jbb = jaa. This can
1.55 lm and nt = 0.8. Re(XTE) =
1.0585, b = 1.632 · be explained as follows; value in the parentheses
10
3 lm
1 and b/k0 = 4.026 · 10
4.
of Eq. (9) is constant in the present case. So, we
can easily see the symmetrical property mentioned
above. If both jaa and jbb are shifted by p simul-
taneously in the jaa
jbb plane, one obtains the
same Re(XTE) value as the previous one. The curve
of
1 is the line of cutoff, and inside this region we
can get the solution for guided modes.
Moreover, a closer view to the contour diagram
in Fig. 10 shows that optical confinement is

Fig. 9. Electromagnetic fields, Ez and iHh, for quasi radiation

TM06 mode. Parameters are same as those in Fig. 5 except for
Re(XTM) =
0.9983, b = 2.043660 lm
1 and b/k0 = 0.504.

Although envelope of the cladding fields decays

slowly, the envelope repeats the oscillation. The
field behavior of TM mode is similar to that of
TE mode.

4. Contour curves of Re(XS)

So far we have concentrated on electromagnetic Fig. 10. Contour diagrams of Re(XTE) for TE mode in the
fields with the variation of Re(XS). By the way, it is jaa
jbb plane, where ja and jb are fixed. na = 3.0 and
found that Re(XS) 6
1 holds for both TE and nt = 0.80. Dashed line satisfies a relation, jaa + jbb = p.
 I. Alam, J.-i. Sakai / Optics Communications 250 (2005) 84–94 91

optimum at a point jaa = jbb = p/2; this point cor-

responds to the QWS condition. This criterion can
be seen from Fig. 11, which plots Re(XTE) for sev-
eral na values as a function of jaa subject to
jaa + jbb = p. We see that optical confinement is
improved as the cladding index difference (na
nb)
increases. From these figures we can estimate the
permissible deviation from the QWS condition.
In the second contour diagram (see Fig. 12), the
cladding layer thicknesses, a and b, are fixed at
0.134 and 0.305 lm, respectively, for na = 3.0,
nb = 1.5, nt = 0.8 and k0 = 1.55 lm according to
Eq. (10). Afterward ja and jb are varied. This dia-
gram is complicated unlike Fig. 10, as can be
understood from Eq. (9). For reference, the solu-
tions shown in Fig. 2 are inserted in Fig. 12. We
see that these solutions are situated near the
QWS condition but donÕt always satisfy the Fig. 12. Contour diagram of Re(XTE) in the jaa
jbb plane,
QWS condition exactly. where a and b are fixed. na = 3.0 and nt = 0.80. Six solid squares
near the QWS condition (jaa = jbb = p/2) indicate guided
Figs. 10 and 12 help us to design the Bragg fiber
modes which correspond to the solutions shown in Fig. 2.
under the actual situation. In the vicinity of the
QWS condition of Fig. 12 we may have solutions
for the radiation modes which are outside the con-
tour line
1. Tentative effective refractive index nt This is shown in Figs. 13 and 14. It is found from
has little influence on these plots and core radius rc Figs. 10 and 13 that decrease in na leads to de-
has no effect. However, refractive index of the crease in the guided mode region, namely
cladding has a prominent impact on the contour |Re(XTE)| > 1. A comparison of Fig. 14 with Fig.
plot, which is fairly inferable.
If the refractive index na is lowered, then the
contour area marked with
1 will also change.

Fig. 13. Contour diagrams of Re(XTE) in the jaa
jbb plane,

Fig. 11. |Re(XTE)| vs. jaa or jbb curve subject to jaa + jbb = p, where ja and jb are fixed. Parameters are same as those in Fig.
where rc = 5.0 lm, k0 = 1.55 lm and nt = 0.8. 10 but for na = 2.0.
92 I. Alam, J.-i. Sakai / Optics Communications 250 (2005) 84–94

Fig. 15. Isolines of Re(XTE) in the jaa
jbb plane from the
solution of Eq. (2), which is the exact one. na = 2.0, rc = 5.0 lm,
k0 = 1.55 lm and nt = 0.8.
Fig. 14. Contour diagrams of Re(XTE) in the jaa
jbb plane,
where a and b are fixed. Parameters are same as those in Fig. 12
but for na = 2.0. Five solid and one open circles near the QWS
condition indicate guided and radiation modes, respectively,
which correspond to the solutions shown in Fig. 2.

12 yields a similar conclusion to the above. For

reference, the solutions obtained in Fig. 2 are
added in Fig. 14. These are also located in the
neighborhood of the QWS condition.

4.2. Approximation of contour plots

The contour curves so far plotted are drawn

by using Eq. (6), which bears the information
about the cladding region alone but no informa- Fig. 16. Interpolation of exact Re(XTE) from solutions of Eq.
tion about the core. Fig. 15 is a contour curve of (2) with approximate Re(XTE) using Eq. (6). na = 2.0.
Re(XTE), wich is evaluated from b through solv-
ing exact eigenvalue Eq. (2) for fiber parameters. 4.3. Contour curve of Re(XTM) for TM mode
Five curves correspond to the solutions for
respective TE guided modes. Interpolation of For a single set of parameters, both TE and TM
these curves is shown in Fig. 16 to compare with modes persist with two different set of Re(XS) val-
contour curves obtained from approximate Eq. ues. So, the confinement is also changed between
(6). Persistence of our vision in a small extent TE and TM modes. Cladding thicknesses, a and
(for example, jaa = 1.555–1.59 and jbb = 1.40– b, were fixed for na = 2.0 and nt = 0.8 in the similar
1.80) reveals that there is small difference be- way to that in Fig. 12. The contour plot is figured
tween the exact isolines and approximate isolines. out in Fig. 17 for TM mode by varying ja and jb.
Agreement between them is excellent. Hence, we From the plot we can see that the contour line cri-
can conveniently use the approximate contour terion is opposite from the TE mode. However,
solution given in Figs. 10–14 with respective set guided and radiation modes can be also found
of parameters. for TM mode. Confinement of the light for TM
 I. Alam, J.-i. Sakai / Optics Communications 250 (2005) 84–94 93

Decrease in na leads to decrease in the guided

mode region. Contour diagram can be accurately
calculated by Eq. (6) including only cladding
parameters and wavelength. It was confirmed on
the contour diagram that the solutions derived in
Section 3 are situated near the QWS condition.
High refractive index material is difficult to fabri-
cate although optical confinement using this mate-
rial is better. On the other hand, low refractive
index material has radiation modes or loss. This
study will help us to fabricate a perfect low-loss
Bragg fiber in the future.

Acknowledgments

Fig. 17. Contour diagram of Re(XTM) for TM mode in the We express our special thanks to Mr. Jyumpei
jaa
jbb plane, where a and b are fixed. na = 2.0 and nt = 0.8. Sasaki for his valuable helps.
Three solid and three open triangles indicate guided and
radiation modes, respectively, which correspond to the solu-
tions shown in Fig. 2.
Appendix A. Amplitude coefficients in the cladding
mode is also dependent on Re(XTM). An approxi- region
mation of these plots is also acceptable. The solu-
tions obtained in Fig. 2 are inserted in Fig. 17 for Amplitude coefficients in mth cladding layer for
reference. TE mode can be represented by

 !
am Y TE
¼nTE
bm m
expð
iK TE
j KÞ
X TE
5. Conclusions

TE
a1
¼ exp½
iðm
1ÞK j K ðA:1Þ
Various properties of radiation and guided b1
modes have been clarified for TE and TM modes
for the cladding ‘‘a’’ region and
in the Bragg fiber. Discussions have been mainly !

made on quasi radiation modes and cutoff by
0  rffiffiffiffiffi
am 1 jb hS11 hS12 am
showing electromagnetic fields and Re(XS) pecu- ¼ ðA:2Þ
b0m 2 ja hS21 hS22 bm
liar to Bloch wavenumber. Classification between
radiation and guided modes is possible by consid- for the cladding ‘‘b’’ region. Here,
ering the value of Re(XS) and its value governs the

f jb
envelope of cladding fields. The envelope for radi- hS11 ¼ 1 þ b expð
ija aÞ;
fa ja
ation modes is oscillatory as well as their fine

structure. It should be noted that quasi radiation f jb
hS12 ¼ 1
b expðija aÞ;
modes in the Bragg fiber distribute against discrete fa ja

 ðA:3Þ
spectrum of propagation constant unlike the con- f jb
ventional index-guiding optical fiber. Whether a hS21 ¼ 1
b expð
ija aÞ;
fa ja
certain mode is guided or not depends on the

f jb
Re(XS) value rather than b/k0 in the Bragg fiber. hS22 ¼ 1 þ b expðija aÞ:
fa ja
Contour curves for Re(XS) have been shown in
the jaa
jbb plane to elucidate the permissible Coefficient nTE
1 for the most inner cladding layer
deviation from the quarter wave stack condition. appearing in Eq. (A.1) is given by
94 I. Alam, J.-i. Sakai / Optics Communications 250 (2005) 84–94

nTE 2J 0 ðjc rc Þ [4] M. Ibanescu, Y. Fink, S. Fan, E.L. Thomas, J.D. Joan-
1
¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ; nopoulos, Science 289 (2000) 415.
Ac 2=ðpja rc Þf½expð
iK TE j KÞ
X TE  þ Y TE g [5] Y. Fink, D.J. Ripin, S. Fan, C. Chen, J.D. Joannopoulos,
E.L. Thomas, J. Lightwave Technol. 17 (1999) 2039.
ðA:4Þ [6] B. Temelkuran, S.D. Hart, G. Benoit, J.D. Joannopoulos,
where Ac denotes the amplitude coefficient in the Y. Fink, Nature 420 (2002) 650.
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[8] Y. Xu, G.X. Ouyang, R.K. Lee, A. Yariv, J. Lightwave
For TM mode, amplitude coefficients, am, bm, Technol. 20 (2002) 428.
a0m ; b0m and nTE
m , should be replaced by cm, dm, [9] J. Sakai, P. Nouchi, Opt. Commun., to be published; doi:
c0m ; d 0m and nTM
m , respectively, in the above 10.1016/j.optcom.2005.01.006.
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Joannopoulos, Y. Fink, Opt. Exp. 9 (2001) 748.
[11] P. Yeh, Optical Waves in Layered Media, Wiley, New
References York, 1988 (Chapter 6).
[12] D. Marcuse, Theory of Dielectric Optical Waveguides,
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