[Electromagnetic Mode Theory] [Chapter 3]

Reference Book:
1. Optical Fiber Communications, John M. Senior, Pearson Publication, 3rd Edition.

Electromagnetic waves
 In order to obtain an improved model for the propagation of light in an optical fiber, electromagnetic wave theory
must be considered. The basis for the study of electromagnetic wave propagation is provided by Maxwell’s
equations.
 For a medium with zero conductivity these vector relationships may be written in terms of the electric field E,
magnetic field H, electric flux density D and magnetic flux density B as the curl equations:

...................................(1,2)
 The divergence conditions:

.........(3,4)
where ∇ is a vector operator.
 The four field vectors are related by the relations:

............................................(5)
where ε is the dielectric permittivity and μ is the magnetic permeability of the medium.
 Substituting for D and B and taking the curl of Eqs (1) and (2) gives:

........................(6,7)
 Then using the divergence conditions of Eqs (3) and (4) with the vector identity:

 We obtain the nondispersive wave equations:

.......................(8,9)
 2
Here ∇ is the Laplacian operator. For rectangular Cartesian and cylindrical polar coordinates the above wave
equations hold for each component of the field vector, every component satisfying the scalar wave equation:

...................................(10)
where ψ may represent a component of the E or H field and υp is the phase velocity in the dielectric medium.

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 [Electromagnetic Mode Theory] [Chapter 3]

Modes in a planar guide

 The planar guide is the simplest form of optical waveguide. We may assume it consists of a slab of dielectric with
refractive index n1 sandwiched between two regions of lower refractive index n2. In order to obtain an improved
model for optical propagation it is useful to consider the interference of plane wave components within this
dielectric waveguide.
 The conceptual transition from ray to wave theory may be aided by consideration of a plane monochromatic wave
propagating in the direction of the ray path within the guide (see Figure 1(a)).
 As the refractive index within the guide is n1, the optical wavelength in this region is reduced to λ/n1, while the
vacuum propagation constant is increased to n1k.

Figure 1: The formation of a mode in a planar dielectric guide: (a) a plane wave propagating in the guide shown by
its wave vector or equivalent ray – the wave vector is resolved into components in the z and x directions;
(b) the interference of plane waves in the guide forming the lowest order mode (m = 0)
 When θ is the angle between the wave propagation vector or the equivalent ray and theguide axis, the plane wave
can be resolved into two component plane waves propagating in the z and x directions, as shown in Figure 1. The
component of the phase propagation constant in the z direction βz is given by:

............................(11)
 The component of the phase propagation constant in the x direction βx is:

...........................(12)
 The component of the plane wave in the x direction is reflected at the interface between the higher and lower
refractive index media.
 When the total phase change after two successive reflections at the upper and lower interfaces (between the points
P and Q) is equal to 2mπ radians, where m is an integer, then constructive interference occurs and a standing wave
is obtained in the x direction.
 This situation is illustrated in Figure 1(b), where the interference of two plane waves is shown. In this illustration
it is assumed that the interference forms the lowest order (where m = 0) standing wave, where the electric field is
a maximum at the center of the guide decaying towards zero at the boundary between the guide and cladding.

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 [Electromagnetic Mode Theory] [Chapter 3]

 Nevertheless, the optical wave is effectively confined within the guide and the electric field distribution in the x
direction does not change as the wave propagates in the z direction. The sinusoidally varying electric field in the z
direction is also shown in Figure 1(b).
 The stable field distribution in the x direction with only a periodic z dependence is known as a mode. A specific
mode is obtained only when the angle between the propagation vectors or the rays and the interface have a
particular value, as indicated in Figure 1(b).
 In effect, Eqs (11) and (12) define a group or congruence of rays which in the case described represents the lowest
order mode. Hence the light propagating within the guide is formed into discrete modes, each typified by a
distinct value of θ.
 To visualize the dominant modes propagating in the z direction we may consider plane waves corresponding to
rays at different specific angles in the planar guide. These plane waves give constructive interference to form
standing wave patterns across the guide following a sine or cosine formula.
 Figure 2 shows examples of such rays for m = 1, 2, 3, together with the electric field distributions in the x
direction. It may be observed that m denotes the number of zeros in this transverse field pattern. In this way m
signifies the order of the mode and is known as the mode number.

Figure 2: Physical model showing the ray propagation and the corresponding transverse electric (TE)
field patterns of three lower order models (m = 1, 2, 3) in the planar dielectric guide
 When light is described as an electromagnetic wave it consists of a periodically varying electric field E and
magnetic field H which are orientated at right angles to each other.
 The transverse modes shown in Figure 2 illustrate the case when the electric field is perpendicular to the direction
of propagation and hence Ez = 0, but a corresponding component of the magnetic field H is in the direction of
propagation. In this instance the modes are said to be transverse electric (TE).
 Alternatively, when a component of the E field is in the direction of propagation, but Hz = 0, the modes formed
are called transverse magnetic (TM).
 The mode numbers are incorporated into this nomenclature by referring to the TEm and TMm modes, as
illustrated for the transverse electric modes shown in Figure 2.
 When the total field lies in the transverse plane, transverse electromagnetic (TEM) waves exist where both Ez and
Hz are zero.
 However, although TEM waves occur in metallic conductors (e.g. coaxial cables) they are seldom found in optical
waveguides.

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 [Electromagnetic Mode Theory] [Chapter 3]

Phase and group velocity

 Within all electromagnetic waves, whether plane or otherwise, there are points of constant phase. As a
monochromatic lightwave propagates along a waveguide in the z direction these points of constant phase travel at
a phase velocity υp given by:

............................(13)
where ω is the angular frequency of the wave.
 However, it is impossible in practice to produce perfectly monochromatic lightwaves, and light energy is
generally composed of a sum of plane wave components of different frequencies.
 Often the situation exists where a group of waves with closely similar frequencies propagate so that their resultant
forms a packet of waves. The formation of such a wave packet resulting from the combination of two waves of
slightly different frequency propagating together.
 This wave packet does not travel at the phase velocity of the individual waves but is observed to move at a group
velocity υg given by:

...........................(14)
 The group velocity is of greatest importance in the study of the transmission characteristics of optical fibers as it
relates to the propagation characteristics of observable wave groups or packets of light.
 If propagation in an infinite medium of refractive index n1 is considered, then the propagation constant may be
written as:

............(15)
where c is the velocity of light in free space.
 Using Eq. (13) we obtain the following relationship for the phase velocity:

................................(16)

Cylindrical fiber
Modes
 The exact solution of Maxwell’s equations for a cylindrical homogeneous core dielectric waveguide involves
much complex task. Although the presentation of this mathematics is difficult, it is useful to consider the resulting
modal fields.
 In common with the planar guide, TE (where Ez = 0) and TM (where Hz = 0) modes are obtained within the
dielectric cylinder. The cylindrical waveguide, however, is bounded in two dimensions rather than one. Thus two
integers, l and m, are necessary in order to specify the modes, in contrast to the single integer (m) required for the
planar guide.
 For the cylindrical waveguide we therefore refer to TElm and TMlm modes. These modes correspond to meridional
rays traveling within the fiber. However, hybrid modes where Ez and Hz are nonzero also occur within the
cylindrical waveguide.
 These modes, which result from skew ray propagation within the fiber, are designated HE lm and EHlm depending
upon whether the components of H or E make the larger contribution to the transverse (to the fiber axis) field.

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 [Electromagnetic Mode Theory] [Chapter 3]

Degenerate Modes or Linearly Polarized Modes

 When the difference between core and cladding refractive index becomes very small (∆ ≪1), more light energy
spreads into cladding. Thus light guiding capacity of the fiber becomes weaker making the structure weakly
guided in nature.
 For such weakly guided fibers it is observed that certain field components or modes are having similar field
distribution and propagation constants. Such modes are grouped together and are known as degenerate modes or
linearly polarized modes.
 By using weakly guided approximation it is possible to solve the boundary conditions for field components at
core-cladding interface.
 Hence under weakly guided approximation natural modes degenerate into linearly polarized modes. The
relationship between the natural HE, EH, TE and TM mode designations and the LPlm mode designations are
shown in Table. The mode subscripts l and m are related to the electric field intensity profile for a particular LP
mode.
Table 1: Correspondence between the lower order in linearly polarized modes
and the traditional exact modes from which they are formed

 It may be observed from Table 1 that the notation for labeling the HE and EH modes has changed from that
specified for the exact solution in the cylindrical waveguide mentioned previously. The subscript l in the LP
notation now corresponds to HE and EH modes with labels l + 1 and l − 1 respectively.
 The electric field intensity profiles for the lowest three LP modes, together with the electric field distribution of
their constituent exact modes, are shown in Figure 3. It may be observed from the field configurations of the exact
modes that the field strength in the transverse direction (Ex or Ey) is identical for the modes which belong to the
same LP mode. Hence the origin of the term ‘linearly polarized’.
 The propagation of particular modes within a fiber may be confirmed through visual analysis. The electric field
distribution of different modes gives similar distributions of light intensity within the fiber core.
 These waveguide patterns (often called mode patterns) may give an indication of the predominant modes
propagating in the fiber. The field intensity distributions for three lower order LP modes were shown in Figure 3.

 If n1 is the refractive index of the fiber core, n is the refractive index of the fiber cladding. k is the propagation
2

constant for light in a vacuum, the propagation constants of the guided modes β lie in the range:

...........................................(17)
 Normalized frequency (V): The normalized frequency is a dimensionless parameter and hence is also sometimes
simply called the V number or value of the fiber. It combines in a very useful manner the information about three
important design variables for the fiber: namely, the core radius a, the relative refractive index difference Δ and
the operating wavelength λ.

.................(18)

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 [Electromagnetic Mode Theory] [Chapter 3]

.....................................(19)
 Here U and W, which are the eigen values in the core and cladding respectively. U is also referred to as the radial
phase parameter or the radial propagation constant, whereas W is known as the cladding decay parameter. The
sum of the squares of U and W defines the normalized frequency V.

.......................................(20)
 LP01 mode which corresponds to HE11 mode never has cutoff condition and is considered as fundamental mode of
optical fiber. V=2.405 defines cutoff condition for LP11 and only one mode is supported by fiber LP01. So, for
single mode fiber V=2.405.

Figure 3: The electric field configurations for the three lowest LP modes illustrated in terms of their constituent exact
modes: (a) LP mode designations; (b) exact mode designations; (c) electric field distribution of the exact modes;
(d) intensity distribution of Ex for exact modes indicating electric field intensity profile for corresponding LP modes

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