Perturbation Model For Computing Optical Fibre Birefringence From A Two-Dimensional Refractive-Index Profile

A vector perturbation model for computing optical fibre birefringence for an arbitary two-dimensional index profile is developed. The vector wave equation is solved to yield the unperturbed vector fields for an azimuthally symmetric refractive index. These fields are used as the basis for the degenerate perturbation analysis. Unlike with the scalar perturbation theory, only first-order perturbation analysis suffices for the computation of birefringence. Computed birefringence for various perturbations are reported.