Abstract

We describe a previously unappreciated “universal” behavior of macrobend-induced loss in singlemode optical fiber. We propose that this could be exploited in a “clip-on’’-type instrument that can detect qualitatively and quantitatively the presence of power propagating in an optical fiber or cable, while at the same time essentially guaranteeing that the induced insertion loss on the propagating signal will be a small, known value, independent of signal wavelength or fiber type.