Optical waveguide — UPSC Physics Optional IFoS 2012 Paper I

An optical waveguide has core and cladding of refractive indices 1\cdot 46 and 1\cdot 45 respectively. (i) Calculate the maximum number of modes with wavelength \lambda = 900\text{ nm} that can travel if it is a planar waveguide of core thickness 10\ \mu\text{m}. (ii) What is the number of modes if it is a cylindrical fiber of diameter 10\ \mu\text{m} ?