Beam Propagation Method for Liquid Crystal-Core Optical Fiber Waveguides

Propagation effects in liquid crystal-core optical fiber waveguides were investigated and simulated by means of beam propagation method. Spatial propagation beam distribution for anisotropic liquid crystal fibers was defined by using BPM_CAD software package (courtesy of Optiwave Corporation). The field intensity was related to the refractive index of core at the liquid crystal fiber in two different waveguide configurations: planar and radial, whereas the number of the propagating modes was calculated. Numerical results were compared with some experimental data formerly obtained.