Abstract

The elasto-optic effect is intrinsically anisotropic. Thus, a standard silica optical fiber, under axial strain, exhibits an anisotropic refractive index. However, most of the optical modes have a negligible axial component of the electric field and, in such a case, the propagation properties are determined by the transversal components of the refractive index tensor. Although a scalar description of the elasto-optic effect may be sufficient for most fiber experiments, as for example strain sensors based on fiber Bragg gratings, there are some cases where the axial components of the electric field are not negligible and an accurate description of the elasto-optic effect will be required. This is the case of silica nanowires [1] and bent fibers [2], for example.

© 2015 IEEE