Modal noise in short fiber sections

The authors present the results of a theoretical and experimental investigation of modal noise in single-mode fiber lengths of less than 1 m. Simulations show that modal noise effects improve as the fiber lengths get very short (several centimeters or less). Experiments illustrating the applicability of the model are carried out for two cases-the interaction of two fiber discontinuities and the interaction of laser-fiber launch with a single fiber discontinuity. The latter case is applicable to laser and transmitter package design. The results of these measurements indicate that low-loss connectors are of paramount importance in high-quality transmitter packaging