Author Description

This book provides an introduction to the new field of optical single-mode fibers for communications applications. It brings together for the first time information that was previously available only in scientific papers scattered over many journals and conference proceedings. The subject is treated from a practical point of view with the emphasis on physical properties. Waveguiding by straight and curved single-mode fibers is explained in simple physical terms, and quantities that do not appear when dealing with multimode fibers, e.g. mode field diameter, chromatic dispersion and the single-mode limit, are treated in depth. Overviews of components and measurement methods for single-mode fibers are complemented by a comprehensive list of references, which facilitates access to further information.