Effect of Surface Roughness Variation on the Transmission Characteristics of D-shaped Fibers with Ambient Index Change

摘要

The influence of surface roughness on the sensitivity of D-shaped fibers to changes in the ambient index was investigated. In order to obtain D-shaped fibers with different surface roughness, we polished one side of the fibers by using different abrasive grits. The topographies of the surfaces of the polished Dshaped fibers were then observed by using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The light scattered from the rough surfaces of the D-shaped fibers was measured by using optical microscopy. The effect of an ambient index change on the transmission characteristics of D-shaped fibers was measured for various values of the surface roughness. The experimental results indicate that variations in the surface roughness have a considerable influence on the sensitivity of the transmission characteristics of D-shaped fibers to changes in the ambient index.