TAILORING ZERO CHROMATIC DISPERSION INTO THE 1.5-1.6 MU-M LOW-LOSS SPECTRAL REGION OF SINGLE-MODE FIBERS

We have designed and fabricated single-mode silica fibres that have zero chromatic dispersion within the 1·5–1·6 μm low-loss spectral region by controlling their waveguide dispersion and dopant-dependent material dispersion. These fibres have small core diameters and large core-cladding refractive-index differences, Δn = 0·018, corresponding to a 13 mole % GeO2 dopant concentration in the core. The zero-dispersion wavelength was shifted from λ0 = 1·375 μm to λ0 = 1·54 μm by decreasing the fibre core diameter from 7 μm to 4·8 μm. This ability to tailor the minimum dispersion wavelength to the ultra-low-loss region near 1·55 μm is important for designing single-mode fibres for very long distance and very high capacity optical transmission. © 1979, The Institution of Electrical Engineers. All rights reserved.