Coupling of Gaussian Schell-model beams into single-mode optical fibers

We develop analytic equations that describe the mean and normalized variance of the coupling efficiency of Gaussian Schell-model beams into single-mode optical fibers. Numerical methods and computer simulations are used to evaluate the accuracy of the various approximations used in this analysis, and, with some insight, empirical compensation is made for the identified shortcomings. The simulations make use of both speckled and nonspeckled beams by employing two different Monte Carlo methods to generate randomly drawn optical fields. While the analytic approximations break down in certain cases, the use of empirical compensation demonstrated accuracies of better than 5% for the mean coupling efficiency in all cases, and generally better than 40% for the coupling efficiency variance. By optimizing the compensation for particular beam characteristics, even higher accuracies can be achieved.