Patent ID: 7257293

Claim:
A method for propagating an optical signal in a large-mode-area (LMA) optical fiber such that bend-induced distortions are minimized, the method comprising the steps of: providing an LMA fiber having a core region with a radius defined as R core and a refractive index defined as n core , said LMA fiber exhibiting a bent-fiber index of Δn bend as said LMA fiber is bent along a predetermined bend radius R bend ; and coupling an output signal from a highly oscillatory mode signal propagating at a defined wavelength λ within the LMA optical fiber, the highly oscillatory mode signal exhibiting an effective mode area A eff , the highly oscillatory mode selected to exhibit an effective index n eff such that n core −n eff (Δn eff ) is greater than a predetermined threshold value sufficient to minimize bend-induced distortions.