The Fiber Optic Bend Radius · AI Generator #GEN-2CB428BF
Physics · optics
Problem
A telecommunications engineer is designing a fiber optic cable that must navigate around a tight corner in a building. The optical fiber has a core made of glass with refractive index n1=1.46 and is surrounded by a cladding with refractive index n2=1.44. Light enters the straight section of the fiber at the critical angle for total internal reflection at the core-cladding interface. When the fiber is bent into a circular arc, this light ray hits the outer edge of the core-cladding interface. For the light to remain trapped in the fiber (not leak into the cladding), what is the minimum radius of curvature R the fiber can have? The core diameter is 50μm.