Dependence of macro-bending loss on bending configuration of multimode optical fibers studied by ray-tracing simulation

The macro-bending loss of multimode step-index helical, s-shaped, and figure-of-eight-shaped optical fibers is investigated by ray-tracing simulation. In particular, fibers with the same radius of curvature having the three different configurations are compared. It is found that macro-bending loss strongly depends on the configuration as well as the bending curvature of the fibers. For the same curvature, the macro-bending loss of fibers in different configurations differs markedly. Thus, when comparing or reporting the macro-bending loss of multimode optical fibers, it is necessary to specify the bending radius as well as the fiber configuration.