Optical fiber index profiles by the refracted-ray method (refracted near-field scanning).

This paper has two primary purposes. First, it provides an elementary description and tutorial overview of the refracted-ray method of measuring fiber index profiles. Second, it presents new results concerning the theoretical foundation, the linearity and precision, and other aspects of the method. In particular, we find that index differences may be measured to 5% or better and conclude by showing ~3% agreement with another laboratory and good agreement with numerical aperture measurements performed by participants in an interlaboratory comparison.