An All-Dielectric Coaxial Waveguide
M. Ibanescu,1
Y. Fink,2
S. Fan,1
E. L. Thomas,2
J. D. Joannopoulos1
An all-dielectric coaxial waveguide that can overcome problems of
polarization rotation and pulse broadening in the transmission of
optical light is presented here. It consists of a coaxial waveguiding region with a low index of refraction, bounded by two cylindrical, dielectric, multilayer, omnidirectional reflecting mirrors. The waveguide can be designed to support a single mode whose properties are
very similar to the unique transverse electromagnetic mode of a
traditional metallic coaxial cable. The new mode has radial symmetry
and a point of zero dispersion. Moreover, because the light is not
confined by total internal reflection, the waveguide can guide light
around very sharp corners.
1 Center for Materials Science and Engineering
and Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
2 Department of Materials
Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
