Large-core multimode fibers are commonly used in automotive and short-distance data transmission links. Depending on the coupling conditions, large cores can support a very large number of fiber modes. Using conventional methods and radial mode solvers to model large-core multimode fibers requires exorbitantly large computational resources.
Without an efficient and accurate method for modeling such systems, successful commercialization of products can become quite challenging. The 2015.06 version of ModeSYS™, a Photonic System Tool, adds a large-core step-index multimode fiber model that allows for the computationally efficient simulation of large-core step-index fibers (with typical core diameters of 200 to 1000 µm) based on the Gloge power-flow approach.
The method is based on models using the Gloge power flow equation, in which the flow of power inside the fiber is modeled as a function of internal angle [1]-[2]: