Effects of joints on single-mode single-polarization optical fiber links.
Single-mode single-polarization fibers appear as an interesting medium for high-capacity long-haul transmission systems. Nevertheless the presence of imperfect joints may lead to undesired effects, such as an excess overall attenuation or a reduction in the signal-to-noise ratio due to intersymbol interference. The exact electromagnetic model of a joint is carried out. A statistical simulation of the behavior of several cascaded fibers separated by joints is presented, showing the importance of some construction and installation parameters.