Hollow Metallic and Dielectric Wave-

guides for Long Distance Optical

Transmission and Lasers
By E. A. J. MARCATJ Ll and R. A. SCHMELTZER
(l\hllll script. received J une 12, 19(H)
'Phe fi eld configurations and propagation constants of the normal modes
are determined f or ll. hollow circular waveguide made of dielectric material
or metal for alJplication as an optical waveguide. The increase oj allentla-
lion due to Cltrvlltllre oj the a:ris is also determined.
'Phe allClwation of each mode is found to be proportional to the square
oj the free-space wavelellgth X a,Il(/ inversely proportional to the cllbe oj the
cylinder radius a. For a hollmv dielectric waveguide made nf (Ilass wilh
II = 1.50, A = J Po, and a. = J 111111 , all. attenuation, oj 1.85 db/ kill. is l)redicled
fOT the minim.1.I.1n-loss mode, Ell
ll
. This loss is doubled for a uuli'lI,S of
curvature of lhe (twirle Q:I." ,:S Il ~ 10 km. Hence, diel.eclTic materials do unt
sre'tn suitable for 'lise in hol-l.ow drcular wavegu.ides for lOll(l d'istance optical
transmission beca'use oj the lri(lh loss inlrocl'tlcetl by even mild curvature
oj Ihe gu.ide a:l'is. Nevertheless, dicleclTic materials are shown fo be vcr!!
allfactive as guiding me(iia Jur gaseolls ampl'ijiers and osciUalors, not only
because of the low atlenuation bllt also because the gain per unit length oj
a dielectric tube containing H e-N e "masing" mixture at the r-i{fht pressure
can be considerably enhanced by reducing the tube diameter. I n this applica-
tion, a small guide raditls is desirable, thereby making the curvature of
the g-u.icie axis not critical. ForA = 0.6328J.l and optimum radi'usa = 0.058
mm, a maximmn theoretical (lain of 7.6 db/ n/. i s predicted.
It is shown thal the hollow metallic Ci1"CldaT waveguide is In.!' less sensitive
to C'llTval'll1"e of lhe guide axi s. 'Th1:s ,is due to the c01nparatively lar{fe complex
dielectric constant exhibited by metals at optical frequencies. For a wave-
length A = lJ.l and a radius a = 0.25 nnl1, the attenuation for the minimum
loss TEo! mode 't:n an al'u.minwn waveguide is only 1.8 rlb/ km. . This loss
is doubled for a radius of cmva.l1ll'e as short as R ~ 48 meters. For A = 311
and a = 0.6 '111.'111 , the alten'llal'ion of [h e TEo, mode is also J.8 db/ km,. 'rhe
uwi'lts of cUTval'ltre which doubles this loss i s appro:l'imately 75 meters. 'l'he
1783
1784 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL, JULY 1004
straight guide los8 for Ihe EHII mode for A = 11' and a = 0.115 mm is 57
db/ k1ll and i8 increased to 3110 db/ bn for A = 31' and a = 0.6111111.
I n view of lhe low-l088 characleristic of Ihe TEO! mode in melallic wave-
guides, the high-loss discrimination of noncircular electric modes, and the
relative insensitivity to axis curvature, the hollow metaHic circular wave-
guide appears to be very attractive as a transmission medium for long
distance optical communication.
I. INTRODUCTION
During recent years the potentially large frequency range made avail-
able to conununicatiolls by t he development of t he optical maser has
stimulated much interest in efficient methods for long distance trans-
mission of light. The most promising contenders for long distance optical
transmission media consist of sequences of lenses 01' mirrors, highly
reBective hollow metallic pipes, and dielectric waveguides.
I

1O
In this paper we present an analysis of the field configurations and
propagation constants of t he normal modes in a hollow circular wave-
guide which, because of its sin1plicity and low loss, may become an
important competitor. The guiding stlUctW'e considered here may con-
sist of an ordinary metallic pipe of precision bore whose inner surface
is highly refl ective, or of a hollow dielectric pipe - i.e., one in which
the metal is replaced with dielectric. Although the transmission charac-
teristics of metallic waveguides are well known for microwave fre-
quencies, this theory is invalidated for operation at optical wavelengths,
because the metal no longer acts as a good conductor but rather as a
dielectric having a large dielectric constant. In t he subsequent analysis,
therefore, both the dielectric and metallic guide are considered as special
cases of a general bollow circular waveguide baving an external mediwn
made of arbitrary isotropic material whose optical properties are charac-
terized by a finite complex refractive index. If the free-space wavelength
is much smaller than the internal radius of the tube, the energy propa-
gates not in the external medium but essentially within the tube, bounc-
ing at grazing angles against the wall. Consequently, there is little energy
loss due to refraction. The refracted field is partially reflected by the
ext ernal surface of the tube and may, in general, interfere constructively
01' destructively with the fi eld inside the tube, decreasing 01' increasing
the attenuation. Because of the difficulty of controlling t he interference
paths, it seems more convenient to eliminate the effect completely by
introducing sufficient loss in the dielectric 01', in the case of a glass di
electric, by frosting the external surface. The field in the hole of the
LONG DTSTA NCE OPTICAL COMMUNICATION 1785
tube is then unaffected by wall thickness. We shall therefore simplify
the analysis of the hollow circular waveguide by assuming infinite wall
thickness, as depicted in Fig. I.
This strllcture will be shown to be attractive as a lowwloss transmission
medium for long distance optical conullunication as well as fOI" optical
gaseous amplifiers and oscillators . It is known, fOI" example, that in a
tube containing a He-Ne mixture such thl1t the product of mdius and
pressme is l"Oughly a constant, the gain per unit length is inversely
proportional to the mdius of the tube. II On the other hand, we find in
this paper that the attenuation of the normal modes is inversely pl"Opor-
tional to the cube of the radius. Hence there is all optimum tube radius
fOI" which the net gain pel" uni t length is a maximum. Furthermore,
because the guidance is continuous, there is no need fOI" periodic focusing.
Consequently, no restriction need be imposed 011 the length of the
amplifying or oscillating tube.
We begin by analyzing an idealized guide I",ving a stmight axis and
a cylindrical wall. The results are t hen extended to include the effects
of mild curvature of the guide axis by finding a perturbation correction
for field configurations and propagation constants of the idealized
straight guide.
II. MODAL ANALYSIS OF THE GENEnAL STHAIGII'I' CillCULAR WAVEGUIDE
Consider a waveguide consisting of a circular cylinder of radius a and
freewspace dielectric constant fO embedded in another medium of dielec
w
tric 01" metal having a complex dielectri c constant f. The magnetic
permeability ~ o is assumed to be that of free space for both media. We
are interested in finding t he field components of the normal modes of
the waveguide and in determining the complex propagation constants
of these modes.
The problem is substantially simplified if it is assumed that
.:,::: ... :
........ -; .. :: ....
Fig. I - Holl ow dielectric waveguide.
T
,
,
za
,
,
,
.L
(1 )
1786 THE SYSTEM TECHNrCAL JOURNAL, JULY 1064
and
1 ("Il k) - 11 1
where k = WVEo,UO = 27r/ X is the free-space propagation constant; 'u.
n
",
is the mth root of the equation = 0, and 11, and m are integers
that characterize t he propagating mode; = is the complex
refractive iudex of the external medium; and 'Y is the axial propagation
constant of the mode under consideration. The first inequality states
t hat t he radius a is much larger than the free-space wavelength X. In
the case of metali zation of the external medium, I II I may be quite large
but is finite at optical frequencies. The second inequality restricts our
analysis to low-loss modes, which are those whose propagation constants
"I are nearly equal to t hat or rree space.
The fi eld components of the natural modes of the most general circular
cylindri cal structure with arbitrary isotropic internal and external media
have been determi ned by Stratton." Thi s structure supports three types
of modes: first, transverse ci rcular electric modes whose only (i eld com-
ponents am E, , H rand II ; second, transverse circular magnetic modes
whose components arc H, , Er and Ez; and third, hybrid modes with all
the electric and magnetic components present. The approximate field
components of these modes are wri tten below, They have been deri ved
using the inequalities (1) and neglecting terms with powers or Ala la"gcr
than one, The superscripts i and e refer to the internal and external
media, respecti vely,
I. Circular electric modes TEo. (11. = 0)
HrOm'
exl' i( -yz - wI)
=
(2)
ElOm
e
= -1
H
rom
e
i "var(V' _ 1) J
O
(lIo
m
)
I
-
." Eo
-, v;;-=l -
1'0
exp i[k. (, - a) + -yz - wI] J
2. Circular Illagnet ic modes 'Dr
om
( n = 0)
E,om' = .], (k,1-) 1
E
" . "110m J ( ' )
'zOm = 1 ,- 0 1',1'
,a exp i ( "( z - wi.)
Hoom' =
. 'UOmJII(/ fll", ) .
'/ . . 1 (' 1) exp ' [k,(,.- a) + ,,/z - wll
.,val' I I -
3. Hybrid modes EH", (n '" 0)
E ... m' = [.1,_, (kir) + vV' - 1.1',(I.:,,-) J
... 11. 1' (1.
. cos .,,(0 + eo)
E",.' = [.1 ,_, (k ir) + Vv' - 1 .1,(k,,) J exp ihz-wt)
sin n(e + eo)

U,m
i , . 1 ( " 1) .1,(u.
m
)
I var II'" -
E'.m' = cos n(e + 00)
E..m' = sin n(e + 00)
E .. m' = - Vv' - 1 sin n(O + 0
0
) J exp i[k,(r - a) + ,,/z - wtl
I
-
e 2 t o I ..
H'nm = II - Ern ...

If
r
""." =
1
-
' 0
- - E" .. ",

1787
. (3)
(4)
1-------
20
- ---1
I I
1!8\ I
I ,I I t I


TE
Ot

I'
TMo1 a
(bl CIRCULAR (a) CIRCULAR ELECTRIC MODES

t t
.' .... .
c":"., '" t I .<:,:,i"

EH_12 EH3t
(C) HYBRID MODeS
Jt (7.0I6%)p , r
= a
TMo2
MAGNETIC MODES
Fig. 2 - Electric field lines of modes in hollow dielectri c waveguides: (n) circu-
lar electric modes, (b) circular magnetic modes, (c) hybrid modes.
1788
LONG DISTANCE OPTICAL COl\fl\fUNI CATI ON
where t he complex propagat ion constant')' satisfi es t he relationships
k/ = k
2
_ ')'2
k ~ 2 = y
2
e _ "/
and 'U"", is t he 'UI.th root of the equation
J "_I('U",,,) = o.
1789
(5 )
(0)
As usual, I 'It I is t he nUlliber of periods of each fi eld component in t he 0
direction, a nd 111 is both the order of t he root of (6) and t he number of
maxirna and minima of each component counted in the radial direction
within the int ernal medium. The constant 0
0
appearing in (4) will be-
come of interest later on when we study the waveguide with curved
axis, because it wi ll admit any orientation of t he transverse electric
field relative to the plane of curvat ure of the guide axis.
For n. = 0, the modes are either transverse electric TEo", (2), 0 1'
transverse magnet ic '1'11
0
", (:3 ). The lines of electric field of t he TEo",
modes are transverse cOJl centri c circles centered on the z axi s. The lines
of magnet ic fi eld are ill planes containing the z axis. Similarl y, t he lines
of magnetic fi eld of the Tl\Iom modes are transverse concentric circles
centered on t he z axi s with the electric fi eld contained in radial planes.
The elect ri c fi eld lines of the modes TE
u
] I TEo2 I T i\ [ U] and Ti\102 are
shoWJl in Figs. 2(a ) and 2( b) ; each vector represents qualitatively the
int ensity and di" ection of the local fi eld.
For n ~ 0, the modes are hybrid, EH"", (4) j therefore, t he magnet ic
and elect ri c fi eld are three-dimensional wit h relatively small axial fie ld
components in t he int ernal medium. Thus t he hybrid modes are almost
transverse.
Let us examine t he proj ection of these three-dimensional fi eld lines
on pl anes perpendicular to the axis z of the waveguide. The difTerential
equations foJ' the proj ected li nes of electric field in both media are
(7)
Er"n/ as well as E, .. ",; contain byo terms as given in (4) . Both are neces-
sary t o sati sfy t he boundary conditions. If we negl ect the second term,
however, no substant ial 0 1'1'01' is iutl'Oduced except very close (a few
wavelengths ) to the boundary, where the second t erm dominates as
1790 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNlCAL JOURNAL, JULY 1964
the first tends to zero. With this simplification, the differential equations
(7) in both media become identical
(I / r)(drl d8) = tan n8.
Upon integrating, one obtains an equation for the locus of the projected
electric field lines
(rl r,) " cos n8 = 1 (8)
where ro is a constant of integration that individualizes the member
of the family of lines. The electric field of an EH,,", mode is different
from that of ElI_nlll mode.
The projection of the magnetic fi eld lines is determined in a similar
way. These equations are
(rl ro) " sin n8 = 1
fol' the intel'nal mediulll and
(rlr,) ".' sin n8 = 1
fol' the external rnodium.
(9)
The PI'ojections of the internal electric (8) and magnetic (9) field lines
are identical for any given mode except for a rotation of .. /( 2n) radians
around the z axis. I n Fig. 2( c) the lines of the electric field in the internal
llI edium are depicted for t he first few hybrid modes. Again the vectors
represent qualitativcly the field intensities and directions.
What happens at the boundary? Consider, for example, the proj ected
electric lines of mode EHII , as shown in Fig. 3(a). These field lines
satisfy (8), an equation which is valid everywhere except near the
boundary. The boundary conditions are violated in Fig. 3(a) because
there is continuity not only of the tangential electric component but
also of the normal component. The internal normal component must be
.' times larger than the external one. Consequently, the electric field
line must be discontinuous. This result is shown qualitatively in Fig.
3(b).
A three-dimensional representation of the field lines is far more com-
plicated than thc two-dimensional one depicted in Fig. 2. As a typical
example, the electric field lines of the EH" mode are shown in Fig. 4 in
a three-dimensional perspective.
The propagation constants of the TE,", , TM,", and EH,,", (n r' 0)
modes are determined below (21). It is found that the hybrid mode
EH_ I " I.m is degenerate (same propagation constant ) with the
EH I " I + 2.m ; i. e., for every hyhrid mode with negative azimuthal index
there is a degenerate hybrid mode with positive aximuthal indcx. The
LONG DISTANCE OP'n CAL COMMUNICATION 1791
la)
(b)
Fig. 3 - (a) Elect. l'i c field lines IIf EBJl mode viuhtting buundn.ry condi t.iuns ;
(b) same E H II Illude wi t h electri c field lines quali lat ively con celed.
transverse modes TEo ... and Ti\f
o
,,, and the hybrid modes EH
,
,,. and
EH:!III have no degenerate cOlili terpart.
J I' t he -ield components of the degenerate EH_ I " I ,m and EI-I I ' j I +:!, m
modes (4) arc added, \\"e obtain new composite modes whose electric
and magnetic fi eld lines project as straight lines on a plane perpendicular
to t he z axis. SOllie of those composite modes are shown in Fig. 5.
It should be noted t hat if the l' efractive index of the extel'llal medium,
FIG. 1- Culnwll.y view of elecl,ri c field lines of E I : [ ! ~ mode. The axia.l peri od
is grossly exnggemled.
1792 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL, JULy 1964

'I'
d
EH-21 EH41 EH_u + EH42
Fig. 5 - Electric field lines of composit.e modes EH_1"1,,., + EH1 1I1+t,m .
II, is very close to unity, then for each value of m, the TEom , TMom and
EH'm modes also become degenerate ( 17 ), (21) and the sum of the
components of TEo", (2) and EH' m (4) yields a new composite mOOe,
as shown in Fig. 6. This mode, together wit h those in Fig. 5 and the
EH'm of Fig. 2(c), form a complete set that closely resembles the set
found for interferometers with plane circular mirrors or for sequences
of circular irises. I
Let us now consider the field intensity distribution outside and inside
the hollow dielectri c waveguide. The external field ( 2), (3) and (4)
has t he radial dependence
exp {ik,( r - a)]
vr
LONG DlS']'AN(' E OPTI CA L COMro.1UNICA']'ION


, r
d
Fig. G - Electri c fi eld lines of ('omposilc modes TEo ... + .
From (5) a nd (20) we obtain, ncglecting terms of order (A/a )' and
hi gher, Ire = kv' ,,2 - 1. The radial dependence is then
exp [i/o V;;-=-](, - a) 1
-v';
If t he dielectric is lossy, t he refractive index v has a positive imagina ry
part. The external electric and magnetic fi elds then oscillate with period
of t he order of A/ I V- - 1 I and decay exponent ially in the radial
direction. The maximum ficld intensiti es in the external medium OCClir
at the boundary r = a .. Being proportional to X/ a, these maxima are
small.
The fi eld intensity inside the hollow waveguide is more interesting.
Again if we subst it ute 'Y (20) into ( 2), (3) aod (4) and neglect terms
of the order X/ a, only the internal transvcrse components remain.
For TEom modes
EtJOm ;
For TM, ... modes,
. ;;, If .. .'
11 ;'
( 10)
( 11 )
1794 THE BELL sYs'rEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL, JULY 1904
For ERn ... modes,
E,,,,,,' = /-l ,,, .. i = J"_1 cos nO
E" .... i =
1
- ()
,uo i l' .
HolI ", = JII _ 1 '/.t il 1/! a sm nO.
( 12)
The field con1ponents of each mode have approximately the samc radial
dependence, varying as Bessel functions of the first kind, and tending
to negli gibly small values at t he houndary (6). This approximate radial
dependence (10), ( I J) and (12) is reproduced undcr each mode pattern
in Figs. 2(a), 2(b) and 2(c).
III. PUOPAGATION CONS'I'ANTS FOR THE GENERAL CIRCULAR CYLLNU1HCAL
GUIDE
In this section wc shall determine the propagation constants 'Y, of
the TEo .. , TMo .. and EH ... modes in the straight hollow guide at optical
wavelengths. The propagation constants are the roots of the following
characteristic equation for the general circular cylindrical structure. a
They are related to k, and k, by expressions (5) .
[
J,: (k,a) /.; , H" (Il' (k,.a) J[J,: (k,a)
./ "(";") - C H.(Il( !.:,.a) ./ ,,( k;a)
v'k, /-I" (1 )' (k,a)J
- To H,, (I) ( k,a)
= nA
[
J
' [ ()J"
kkia. ktl
( 13)
This Cfluation is simplified substantially when the approximations in
( l ) are int roduced. ,' ill ce !.' ,lI I , the asymptotic val ue of t he Hankel
runctions may be used
Since
f/ ,, (I)' (k,a) .
, + O( 1 I k,lI ) ,
H,,(Il( k,lI )
/r,n I.
:!.- v' J
k,a ( v' - 1)1 2,..a
(14)
( 15)
powers of v' l k,a large>' than one sha ll be neglected. The characteristic
equation then simplifi es to
.I,, _,( !.:,lI ) = iv,,(k;f k) .I, (k,a ) ( 16)
where
LONG DI STA NCE OPTICAL
Vv' - 1
Vv' -
Hv' + 1)
Vv' - 1
for TEo" modes (n = 0)
for TMo", modes (n = 0)
for EI-l,,,,, modes (n 0) .
1795
( 1 i )
To solve the characteri stic equation for k.-a we notice that because
of ( 1) and (5), the right-hand side of ( 10 ) is close to zero. Using a
perturbation techni'lue and kecping only the first term of the perturha-
tion,
kia ;:::::::: It ,, ,,.(1 - ill,J ka) (18)
where 'Un". as before is the mth root of the equation
(19)
The validity of ( 18) is assured provided that the order of the mode is
low enough so that i"" I 'n
UIII
1m. The propagatioll constants 'Y can
then be obtaiued from (5)
_ ! (II""' X)' (1 _ iv"X)] .
2 2iTa iTa
(20)
The phase constant and attenuation constant of each mode are the real
and imaginary parts of 'Y, respectively,
= Re h) = 2; {I - J[ 1 + [m (:": )]}
(21 )
lIn
- ("""' ) ' X' R ( )
an", I - 2iT a:! e II" .
IV. PROPAGATION CONs'rANTS Fan S'rnArGHT DIELEC'J' RIC GUIDES
For guides made of dielectric material , 11 11 is usually real and inde-
pendent of A, so that the phase and attenuation constants are
1796 THE BELL SYSTEM JOURNAL, JULY 19M
= 2 .. {l _ ! (U.mX)'}
A 2 2 .. a
1
for T E'
m
modes (n = 0)
v' 1 '
= (u"m)'
,
(22)
v-
for TM'm modes (n = 0)
a ll'" 2". a3
Vv'- 1 '
!(v' + I )
for EH,m modes (n '" 0)
Vv' - l'
The phase constant of modes in hollow di electric waveguides have the
same frequency dependence as modes in perfectly conducting metalli c
waveguides when operating far from cutoff; hoth tl'ansrni ssion media
arc then similarly dispersive.
The attenuation constants are proportional to X
2
/a
3
. Consequently,
the losses can be made arbitrarily small by choosing the radius of the
tube a sufficiently large relati ve to the wavelength X.
The refractive index v affects the attenuation of each of the three
types of modes (22) in different ways. This fact is reasonable on physical
grounds. TEom modes can he considered to be composed of plane wave-
lets, each impinging at grazing angle on the interrace between the two
media with polarization perpendicular to the plane of incidence. It is
known from the laws of refraction that the larger t he value of II, the
smaller the refracted power.
TlVlo"l modes may also be thought of as consisting of plane wavelets,
but with the electric field of each now contained in the plane of inci dence.
For v very close to unity, there is littl e refl ection and the refracted loss
is high ; as the value of v is allowed to become large, each wavelet gets
close to the Brewstel' angle of incidence and again the refracted loss is
high. The minimum occurs for. = 0.
EH"m modes are composed of both types of plane wavelets. Therefore,
ns is reasonable from the above argument, the attenuation constant
a
llm
has a II dependence which is an average of those of TE
om
and TIVl
om
modes. The value of II that minimizes all '" is " = .y'3 = 1.73.
The attenuation constants (22) are proportional to " .. m'. Some values
of " om ( 19 ) are presented in Table 1. For a fixed value of n the attenua-
tion constant increases with In. Thi s statement is not true for m fixed
and n variable.
Comparing the attenuation constants (22) of the different modes,
we find that the mode with lowest attenuation is TEOI if > 2.02 and
EHII if v < 2.02. Most glasses have a refractive index v 1.5, and
LONG OISTANCE OPTICAL COMMUN ICATJON 1797
TAllLE 1- SOto.'I E VALUES 'll"wl
II/ m I
,
3

1 2.405 5.52 8.054 11. i9G
2 or' 0 3.832 7.016 10 . 173 13.324
3 U I' - 1 5 . 136 8A 17 I1.G2 14.79G
., or
- 2 G.380 9.761 13.015 16.223
consequently for hollow glass tube EHII should be preferred. The attenu-
ation of t his mode (8686<>11 in db/ km) has been plotted in Fig. 7 as a
function of Aja for v = 1.50 usi ng A as a parameter. Typically, for a
wavelength A = IJ.l and radius a. = 1 nun, the attenuation of the EHII
mode is J .85 db/ km db/ mile) . If t he radius of the guide is doubled,
the attenuation is reduced to 0.2:H db/ km.
0
2 0
'?
<
or
...=>.
w
o
o
,
I
W

o o.
z
o

o.
w


< o.
0.0
0.0
0.0
0
5
2
,
5
2
I
5
2
,
,
}. = 10- !>M
to- 'M
\
1\
!\
\ \
\
\
\
\
\
,
to-
7
M
1\
\ \
\
\
1\ \
\ \ \
\
\
\
\ \
\ \ \
\
\
\
\
\
\ 1\
0.05 0.02 0.01 0.005 0.002 0.001 0.0005 0.0002 0.0001
'fa
Fig. 7 - Ailcllunt.ion of EH" IWldes (1.85 venms wnvelcngt h/ radi us
(, 1. 5).
1798 1'HE DELL $YS'l'EM 'rECHNICAL JOURNAL, JULY 1964
V. HOLLOW J)tELE(."l' Rl C WAVEGUIDE FOR OPTICAL MASER AMPLIFIERS
AND OSCILLATOnS
A mode traveling in a hollow dielectric waveguide fi Ued with "masing"
material experiences a net gain which is given by the difference between
t he amplification due to t he active medium and the loss due to leakage
through the walls. It has been shown" that in a tube filled with t he
right mixture of He and Neat t he propel' pressure, the gain G is in-
versely proportional to the radius a of tbe tube. Then
G = ( A/ a) db/ m (23)
where the radius a is measured in meters and the constant A is
it = 0.00056 db.
On t he other hand, we have found that the transmission loss of t he
ER" mode in the holl ow waveguide with a refractive index v = 1.50
is L = 8.685"" . From (22)
L = B( 'A' / a' ) db/ m (24)
where the constant B is
B = 1.85 db.
The uet gain per uui t length is then
G - L = ( /l / a ) - B('A' / a')
passing through a Il Jaximulll at the value of the radius for which
a(G - L )/oa = O.
The optimulIl radius and the IlJaximulll llet gain are respectively
a.", = ~ 'A = 9 1.7X
(G -
2 A! \ 10-
6
L ) m ~ = 31 BI X = 4.8\ T db/ m.
1"01' t he He-Ne mixture, 'A = 0.6328 10-' m. Consequently
Q"pl = 0.058 mm
(G - L )", .. = 7.5 db/ m.
(25)
(25)
( 27 )
Alt hough the diameter of the tube is quite small , the gain pel' unit length
is sufficiently large as to make hollow di electric amplifi ers and oscillators
attractive for e:xperimentatioD.
LONG DISTANCE OIYl'IC.-\.L CO?IMUNICATION 1799
Present-day confocal He-Xc mascI'S employ tubes whose approximate
length and radius UrC 1 III and a nll ll respcctively. The gain per passage
( 23 ) is 0.22 db (",",j pel' cent ) . lI' a hollow di eleetl'ic wavegui de with an
optimulll radius 0.058 mill were used, the salli e gain would be achieved
with a length of only 0.22/ 7.G = 29 mill. Thi s presents an excell ent
possibility for a very cOITlpact mnscl' .
Even for radii largcr thall the optimum, the hollow di electric wave-
guide is still attractive. For exatnpl e with a = 0.25 111m, the gain is 2.6
db/ m, a value far larger t han the gain 0. 22 db/ m obtained for the 3-mm
radi us tube commonl y used for rl1asers.
Nevertheless, for long-wavelength masers the optimtlln values ( 26)
are not pl'acti cal. COll sider fol' example a tube containing an active
material which amplifi es at A = 10-
4
111. Let us assume that the constant
il is st ill 0.00066. Then from (26), t he opt imum radius and maxImum
gain are
( r: - L )",", = 0.0481 db/ lII.
(28)
The gain is very small. It could be enhanced by rcducill g the mdi us and
by ill creasing the refractive illdex "of tbe walls to a value much larger
t han 1.5. Thi s can be accompli :-; hed if lIl etal is used instead of dielectri c,
as is shown in the next section.
V I. A'L"I'ENUA'rI ON CONSTANTS Fon THE S1'RAIGI-I T METALLI C GUIDE
I n order to discuss the attenuat ion characteri stics of metalli c wave-
guides, we shall need to have some quantitative information about the
behavior of metal s at opti cal frequenci es. \-Ve examine as a typical
example the optical propcrties of aluminum, even though thi s may not
be the most suit.able metal. The dispersion characteri stics of the con-
ductivity and relative dielectri c constants of aluminulll have been
studi ed extensively by Hodgson,i3 Beattie and Conn,I'" and Schulz.
H
'
The data used below have been taken from a compilation of the resul ts
of these studies,i6 and is presented graphi cally in Fig. 8. It is evident
from these di spersion curves that the di electric constant for aluminum
is much larger t.han fol' ordiliRry di electri cs and increases monotoni cally
with \\"Uvelength in the range < A <
The circular electric Illodes lu\\' c the lowest loss in IllctaUic wave-
guides, whil e the circul ar magnetic and hybrid modes arc rapidly
attenuated even for a wavelength as short as The attenuation con-
stant nO! for t he lowest-loss TEO! mode is plotted in Fig. 9 for wave-
1800 TI:IE DELL, YSTEM TECHNlCAL JOURNAL, JULY 1964
0.0

o.

o. 2
o.


2

'N
....=. 10
"
Cf 20
'0
'00
200
'00
1000
0.'
1\
'\

1\
'\
'\
1",,-
1\
"'"
"-

r-..

r--..
"-
"'"
'"

,"'-'
0. 2 0.4 0.8 0.8 I 2 4
WAVELENGTH, X, IN MICRONS
Fig. 8 - Dispersion curve (or aluminum .. 1 = f i fO = Re ( .. ' ) + i 1m ( .. I) versus
wavelength
lengths in the range 0. 31' < X < 4.01' for a = 0.25 nun, 0.50 mm and
1 mm. These data show a considerable improvement over that cor-
responding to the lowest-l oss mode ER" for t he di electric guide. We
saw that for a hollow glass dielectric waveguide, the EH" mode has a
loss of l. 8 db/ km for a radius a = I mm and wavelength X = II'. The
attenuation for the TEO! mode for the aluminum guide with the same
radius and wavelength is only 0.028 db/ km. For a wavelength X = 11'
and a radius a = 0.25 min, the millimwn-Ioss TEol mode for the alumi-
num waveguide has an attenuation constant aOI = 1.8 db/ km. The
same attenuation is achieved for X = 31' and a = 0.6 mm. The attenua-
tion constant for the TE", mode under the last two conditions is a 02 =
6.05 db/ km. For a wavelength X = II' and a = 0.25 mm, t he straight
guide losses for the TMOI and EH" modes are approximately 145 db/ km
and 57 db/ km, respectively.
VII. FIELD CONFIGURATION AND ATTENUATION OF MODES IN THE CURVED
GUIDE
In order to achieve a more realistic evaluation of t he hollow circular
waveguide for long distance optical transmission, it is necessary to
LON(T DI STA N('E OPTI CA L
50

20
10
'"i'
{
5"",
2

""
m

w
Q
o
I
1: 0.5

UJ
0.2
o.
z
I
o
0.05

Z
0.02
I(
0.0 I
0.005
0.002
0.00 I
4
'"

--

2
-
'\.

,,\ r-
'\.
"

'\.
,
I

I
"
I 0.8 0.6 0.4
WAVELENGTH, >., IN MI CRONS
0.2
1801
0.1
Fig. !) - of TEol Ill ude , a o! versus wnvclengt.h }..(p), for aluminulll
guide.
evaluate t he efTects of mild clln' atul'C of t hc guidc axis. This is most
easi ly accomplished by determining II perturbation cOlTcction for both
the field configllrat ioll and t he attenuation constants for t he ideali zed
st raight guide whosc chamctcl' ist ics ha\'c heell described above.
V III. FOItMULATION OF THE PHODLEM
Consider t. he toroidal system (1", 0, z) wit h metric coeffi cients
e,
,.
( 29)
c, I + ,./ R sin 0
as depicted in Fig. 10. In t hi s system of coordinates, a differenti al
length is given by
ds = (r,'d,.' + <,'dO' + r,'dz' )l (:30)
where I? is t he radius of cllrvature of t he toroidal system and is chosen
1802 'I'HE BELL SYS1'EM TECHN I CAL JOURNAL, J ULY 1964
Fig. 10 - The curved holl ow dielectric waveguide IUld the lIlisocinted toroidul
coordinatc systcm (", 0, Z).
equal to the radius of curvature of the guide axis, so that the guide wall
is located at't = a, and the axi s of the guide coincides with the curvcd
z-axis. In thi s toroidal coordinate system, C<l uations are
1 (1 + "I R sin 0)3C.1 - i'Y, "X, + i",.,.( 1 + li R sin 0)&, = 0
i 'Y,3C, - i {( I + "I R sin O)JC,I + i",, ( 1 + li ll sin 0)&0 = 0
a ..
i ( .. 3C,) - -'!. x, + i"" .. &,
a.. ao
o
:0 I ( I + .. I R s in 0)&,1 - i'Y,6, - ,;"'w(1 + ,.IR sin O)X, 0
i'Y,&, - i 1( 1 + liR sin 0)&, 1 - i",,,(1 + li R sinO)3c, = 0
ar
a () a . 0
!iT ,,6, - ao &, - ,,,,,,,,3C. =
whcre we have omitted the COllllllon factor
exp i ( 'Y.z - ",I)
in which 1'c is t he propagation constant along the curved z-axis.
(a 1 )
'rhe toroidal system ("',0, z) and the CUl'ved waveguide degenerate
into a cylindrical system a nd a stmight guide, respectively, as R ap-
proaches infinity. :i\laxwell's equations for the straight guide are there-
fore obtained from (a1) by lett illg R "' .
LONG OI'T I CAL
fe H, - ':'Y,. H. + i w, rE, 0
i 'YH, - i H, + iw,}!.', 0
ar
i (rH.) - ai o H, + i Wfl'E, 0
ar
a
- E
ao '
o
(rE.) - F:, -iwwH, = 0
Br ao
1803
where 'Y the propagat ion COtl stant for the straight guide, and the
superscript i and subscripts mn supprcssed.
IX. SOLUT ION I;'QH T HE CURVED GUIDE
We proceed t o solve (:11 ) for t hc fi eld vectors e, JC and obtain t he
pl'Opagation COll stant 'YG for the curved guide as functi ons of the field
vectors y,;, 7l a nd t he propagation constant "1 of t he st raight guide. T he
latter quanti t ips are known 1(2 ), (:1), (-1 ) and ( 20) 1. We int roduce a
paralll ctcr
The range of ill tel'cst is that 1'01' whi ch the radius of curvature Il is so
large t hat u I.
Using a fi rst-ordcr perturbatioll technique, the solution of (3 1) is
0. = ( I + ur/ a sin 0) 1::.
0, = ( I + ur/ a sin 0) 8 ,
0, = ( I + ur/ a sin 0) 11', + (-i u/ ka )( E, sin 0 + E. cos 0)
JC. = (I + ur/ a sin 0) 1-1.
JC, = ( I + ur/ a. sin O) H,
JC, = (I + ur/ a sin 0) 1-1 , + (-iu/ ka )( H, sin 0 + H. cos 0).
(34)
The etl'ect of curvature of the gui de axis is to make unsy mmetri cal the
1804 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOUHNAL, JULY 1964
transverse fi eld configuration of the straight guidc. Each transverse
component is enhanced in the half cross section farthest from the center
of curvature.
To a first-order perturbatioll of (J , the pl'Opagatioll constallts of the
curved and straight guide arc identical ; i.e. , 'Yc 'Y. Kevertheless, know-
ing the field components of the mildly curved structure, it is possible
to calculate its attenuation constants a,,", (R) = He 'Y, .
X . A'!"rEN UATION CONSTANTS a"m(R)
The mean radial power flowing into the dielectric pel' unit length
at the surface of the guide is
I 1" p, = - He [e.JC, * - s,x, *J [I + ai R sin OJa dO.
2 0 r _ (I
(35)
The power How ill the axial z directi on within the internal mediulll
r < a is
1 [" 1"
p , = 2 J
o
c Re [S,X, * - e.x, *J I' dO ill' (36)
and decreases along z at a rate equal to the radial fl ow pel' uni t length
P, j i.e. ,
ell>, ? ( /') 1' P
- 1- = - .... a,,'" t. = - ,
"
(37)
where a"", (Il) is the attenuation constant of the mode under considera-
tion for the curved holl ow dielectri c waveguide. Consequently
a"",( R) = H P,/ P,) . (38 )
To compute P, we substitute the known fi eld quantiti es into (35) .
This yields
P, = Re r [ 1 + sin 0 [' ( 1 + ai R sin 0)
{
) } dO
... sin' n(O + 0
0
) + cos' n (O + 0,)
for TEo"1 modes
for TMom modes
for EH"", modes .
(39)
Terms with powers of X!(2",a ) larger than two have been neglected.
Upon integrating,
P
_ R I ;;; 'It" ",' } .'('It"",)
, - 11' 0
J1.1J k-av ,,2 - 1
LONG m:-i'rANCE OPTI CAL COi\IMUNI CATION
(J + 1U' )
/( I +tu')
for TEo", modes
for TM
om
modes
(v' + I) [I + u' (I + 0,,( 1) -: - 1
2 2 2 v- + 1
for EH"", mode:-i
where
'COS 200)J
0,,( 1 ) =
n = I
n '" l.
(40)
( 41 )
The power P;t flowing radiall y ill thf' gll ide is ohtained by substituting
(:14) into (:lG) and int egrat ing
_ 1ra" , / ;; 'C. ) r u' [ ? ( . 9) / 'I}
P
z
2 V ; 0 J" tt,,,,, \ 1 + i3 1 + ""n n -... 'U1l1ll . (42)
Hence
{
4 ( 21ra )' ( a)'
a"",( R ) = a"", ( "' ) 1 + 3- - , R -
o 'U",,,I\ ,
[
I _ n(n - 2) + ( 1) Re ?" ] }
.. I "
. It - p.
' m Re V " 1
.--
where 0'"",( cc) = 0'",,, is the attenuation constant for modes in the
straight guide ( ll = -n ) given by ( 21 ) . The attenuation eonstant
a,,,,, ( R) can also he written ill the following form
",,,,, ( R) = a"",( "') + ( a' / X'R") Re V"",( . ) (44)
wher e
1
V.' - 1
4
.'
C)'
3 V.' - 1
H.' + I )
(45)
V.' -
{
n(n - 2) :3 (v' - I) )
. 1 - . , + -, 0,.( I ) ' + 1 cos 200 > .
U,,'" P J
1806 THE BELL SYS'I'EM 'I'ECHN I CAL JOU HNAI " JU LY 1964
The values of ReV"", ( ") are always posit ive. Some of them have been
calculated in Table II for a refractive i ndex " = I .SO.
The attenuation constant of any mode consists of two terllls (44) .
Thc first coi ncides with that of the straight guide and is pl'Oportional
to the second term represents an incl'ease in attenuat ion due
to CUl'vature of the guide axis and is proportional to a
3
/ A'R, 2u, tlm
Z
. There-
fore the lowcr the straight guide attenuation constant ( small 'li.
tlm
'! A'/ a
3
) ,
t he larger the loss due to bends a nd vice verBa. From ( 43 ) 01' ( 45) we
find that only for t he EHI . modes, t he ori entation of the fi eld wi t h
respect to the plane of curvature influences t he attenuation. If 6
0
= 0,
t he electri c fi eld in the cent er of the guide is in the plane of curvature
and the attenuation is a maximum. 1"01' 80 = 1I"/ 2, the electri c field
is normal to the plane of curvature and the attenuation is a minimum.
The ratio of maximum to minimum is mild, however. For the lowest
attenuation mode EH II and" = 1. 50, it is
If I v I I , t hat ratio is
1' .. ", (60 = 0) _ 1 ("
\
f ( / ) - . ID.
"Ill 8
0
- 11" 2
V ... (60 = 0) =46
V "",(0 = .. / 2) ..
(46)
From equation ( 4:1 ) we find t hat t he radi us of cur vature whi ch doubl es
the straight guide attenuation is
2 (2")'a'
Ro = V.3 'U"II' )!
' [ 1 _ n(n - " 2) + o,,( I)
'11."", - 4. Re
Re v';;;-=-j" ]1
v' + 1 cos26
0

v'';- l
(47)
This value of Ro is onl y approxi mate since ( 43 ) was derived by assum-
ing u I.
XL EFFECT OF CURVA'['UnE ON ATTENUA'r I ON OF MODES I N 'rHE HOLLOW
OI ELEC'r RI C WAVEGUI DE
For a straight hollow glass waveguide with v = l. 5 and a radius
a = I nun operating typi cally at a wavelength A = II' , t he attenuation
of t he lowest- loss mode EHu is au = l. 85 db/ kill. This loss is doubled
for a radius of curvatul'e Ro to kill . Fa)' long di stance optical trans-
mission a radius of cUl' vature of at least a few hundred meters would
L ON(; OP'l'I C.'\L 1807
"1,,1
I
,
J
,
- I 2.57 (1 + 0.326 1.034 (I + 0.301 0.553 (I + 0.295 O.3..t7 ( I + O.2!J3
cos 28
0
) 20
0
} eos 20
0
) e08 280}
I
TE 3.22 0.955 0 .455 0 .2M
0
'I'M 7 .22 2. 1-15 1. 022 0.50u
I 15.5 (I + O.24H 2.110 ( I + 0.279 1.034 (I + 0.284
0.554 (I
+
0.286
cns 28
0
) cos 28,,) cos 28
0
) ens 2O,, )
2 5.22 1. 55 0 . 735 0.432
:1 2.57 1.0:14 0.553 0.347
401' - 2 1.51 0.737 0 .430 0.287
he tolerable. Therefore hollow di electric waveguides do not seem suita-
bl e for long distance opt ical transmissioll .
0 11 t he other hand, the CUl yaturc i ll hollow dielectr ic waveguides for
applicat ion in gaseous amplifi ers a nd oscill ators is not criti cal. For
example
l
if a = 0. 2;') llllll alld A = IJ..l. , the straight guide atteuuation is
0. 12 db/ lll eter. The radius of curvature whi ch doubles thi s qua ntity
1'01' the lossiest polarizatioll - i.e., ,,ith the elect ric fi eld at t he centel'
of t he guide cont.aincd ill t he plane of cUl' vature - is approximately
i;'}O IIlctel' S, a. "aluc ,,ell wit. hi u the linlits of laboratory precision. COII-
S(-'qllcll t ly, t he holl ow di electric) wan'guidc docs remain very attractive
as a guiding IIlc<iiuli l fo r opt ical amplifiers a nd oscillators ,,- here a slIllLlI
gu ide radius is desirahle, therehy maki ng t he guide less sensitive to
cur vat ure of t he ax is.
XII. E FVECT OF ('u nVATURE ON AT' I' E:\ UAT I ON or Mo nES I N THE
GUIDE
The attelluatiOlI constallts a u". ( R ) for the lowest-l oss
in the cur ved metall ic guide are gi,-en by
ao",(R) {I +
TEo ... modes
(48)
whel'e an ... ( eo) is the attelluatioll constant for the T I!:om mode in the
stl'aight guide, R = :c. For a radius u. = 0.25 mill and wavelength
A = IJ..l., the straight guide loss for the lo,,-est-loss TEol llIode, aOI ( 00) =
1.8 db/ km, is douhled for a radius of cur\"!lture of only Ro ..18 meters.
1808 THE BELL SYS'l'EM TECHNICAL JOUUNAL, J ULY 1964
For X : l ~ and a = 0.6 III III , the straight TEm loss is al so 1.8 db/ kill
a nd t he radi us of curvature t hat doubl es t hat loss is 75 m.
XIII. CONCL SIONS
The hollow dielectric waveguide at optical wavelengths supports a
complete set of normal modes that are eit her circular elect ric, ci rcula r
magnetic 01' hybrid. They resemble the modes found in a sequence of
circular irises not only in field configuration but also in loss di scrimina-
tion among t hem . . Fo!' holl ow rnetalli c waveguides the mode discrimina-
tion is far larger.
The field configuration and propagatioll constants have been de-
termi ned. The attenuation is practically independent of the loss tangent
of the dielectric but depends essentially on the refraction mechanisrn
at the wal l. Assuming refractive index of t he di electric, 1.5 for hollow
diel ectric waveguides, the ERII mode exhibits the lowest power attenua-
t ion, viz., 1.85 ( X' / a') db/ m. For a wavelength X = l ~ and a tube
radius a = 1 mm, t he attenuation is only 1.85 db/ knl.
The hollow di electric waveguide does not , however, seem suitable for
long di stance optical t ransmission because of the high loss introduced
by even mild cUl'vature of the guide axi s. Nevertheless it remains very
attractivc as a guidi ng Illcdium foJ' optical amplifiers and oscill ators,
since here a small radius of t he guide is desirable. Consequently, cUl'va-
tUre of t he guide axis is not critical. Filled with "masing" material, t he
hollow dielectric waveguide provides not only guidance but also gain
which is almost inversely proportional to the radius. For the right
He-Ne mixture, t he maximum theoretical gain attainable is 7.6 db/ In
provided that t he radius is 0.058 mm. But even if t he radi us is 0.2.5 mm,
the predicted gain is sti ll large, viz. 2.6 db/ Ill.
The metallic waveguide is superior to the holl ow dielectric waveguide
for usc in long di stance opt ical transmission. Because of the relatively
large di electric constant exhibited by aluminum at optical frequencies,
the attenuation constant for t he lowest-loss mode TEO! is comparatively
small and less sensitive to curvature of the guide axis. Fa!' a radius
a = 0.25 mm and a wavelength A = 1p, the attenuation constant fol'
TEO! modes in the straight alumi num guide is only 1.8 db/ km, which is
doubled for a radius of curvature of about 48 meters. For a = 0.6 mm
and X = 3 ~ , t he TE" straight guide loss is also 1.8 db/ km but i doubl ed
if the radi us of curvature of the waveguide axis is 75m.
We have considered some of the theoretical problems of the hollow
dielectric 01' metallic waveguide. The results are promising, Neverthe-
less, tbe usefulness of these guides bas yet to be pl'oven experimentally,
LONG IHSTANCE OPTICA L COMMUNICATION 1809
and furthermore t he attenuation constants discussed here do not include
scattering losses due to surface imperfectiolls.
XIV. ACKNOWLEDGMEN'rs
It is a pleasure to thank R Kompfner and S. E. MilicI' for their
suggest ions.
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1. Fox, A. G., and Li , Tingye, Heson:lIlt Modes in a :Mnser In t.e rferometer,
B.S.T.J ., 40, l\rarch, 1961, p . 453.
2. Boyd , G. D., lind Gordon , J . P. , Confocal .Mult.imode Resonator for Milli
meter t. hrough Oplicnl Wllvelengl.h IvIuscrs, B.S.T .J ., 40, March, 1961, p.

3. Boyd, G. D., and Kogeln ik , H. , Gencralized Confocal Resonator Theory,
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]5. L. C., J . Opt. Suc. Am., 41,1051, p. 10-17 ; 44,1954 p. 3Si .
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