Effect due to down-tapering on the hybrid mode power confinement in liquid crystal optical fiber

The paper presents analysis of the wave propagation through down-tapered three-layer liquid crystal optical fiber in respect of power confinement due to the hybrid modes supported by the guide. The inner two regions are homogeneous and isotropic dielectrics whereas the outermost layer being composed of radially anisotropic liquid crystal material. It has been found that the guide supports relatively very high amount of power in the liquid crystal region, which indicates the possible use of such microstructures in varieties of optical applications. The effects on confinement due to the positive and the negative (illustrating the taper type) values of taper slopes are reported.