Microbending loss evaluation in arbitrary-index single-mode optical fibers. Part II: Effects of core index profiles

Microbending losses in single-mode fibers with several types of core refractive index profiles are compared. Numerical calculations were carried out to characterize fibers with step, power-law,
W
and ring-shaped index profiles. Step-index and
W
fibers exhibit a small excess loss near the single-mode operation upper limit. However, permissible offset misalignment in fiber splice at constant microbending loss is nearly identical for step, power-law, and
W
fibers. An index dip at the core center has an undesirable influence on the required splicing accuracy. The effects of fiber curvature statistics and index profile parameters are investigated in detail.