Supersymmetric Transformations in Optical Fibers

Originally introduced in the context of string theory and quantum field theory, the ideas of supersymmetry have lately been extended to photonics, as a tool to design unique optical structures with degenerate spectra. Here the authors study several aspects and applications of one-dimensional supersymmetric transformations in optical fibers. As an example, they discuss the possibility of building a broadband all-fiber true mode (de)multiplexer, requiring no mode conversion between optical waveguides, which addresses an outstanding real-world problem in the field.