In fiber optics is the thickess of the cladding important?

fisico30

Hello Forum,

a fiber optic cable has two components: a core and a surrounding layer called cladding.

The core has an index of refraction n_cor sligthly larger than the cladding core c_clad.
This allows total internal reflection to take place. The difference in index is small to avoid large chromatic dispersion.

The size (diameter) of the core is important (relative to the input wavelength) because it determines the propagating modes.

How about the thickness of the cladding layer on top of the core? Does it matter?
It does not seem so.....

Thanks
fisico30