Spatial coherence at the output of multimode optical fibers

The modulus of the complex degree of coherence is directly measured at the output of a step-index multimode optical fiber using lateral-sheering, delay-dithering Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Pumping the multimode fiber with monochromatic light always results in spatiallycoherent output, whereas for the broadband pumping the modal dispersion of the fiber leads to a partially coherent output. While the coherence radius is a function of the numerical aperture only, the residual coherence outside the main peak is an interesting function of two dimensionless parameters: the number of non-degenerate modes and the ratio of the modal dispersion to the coherence time of the source. We develop a simple model describing this residual coherence and verify its predictions experimentally. © 2014 Optical Society of America.