Polarization dependent dispersion characteristics of high order modes in acylindrical dual mode fiber with an arbitrary index profile

For a cylindrical dual mode optical fiber, dispersion characteristics of th e high order polarization modes, TE01, TM01, and HE,,, have been rigorously analyzed by solving the vectorial Maxwell equations numerically. The effec ts of the inner cladding index structure on the dispersion characteristics of the polarization modes are reported for the first time. In the matched c ladding, the difference in chromatic dispersion, dispersion slope and modal delay among the polarization modes are found to increase for waveguide con ditions optimized for a large negative dispersion. A new design of a cylind rical dual mode fiber with a depressed inner cladding that can intrinsicall y reduce the polarization dependence in the dispersion characteristics to i mprove the performance in dispersion compensation is proposed. (C) 1999 Els evier Science B.V. All rights reserved.