How about optical fiber without cladding and directly coated?
I have got some answers from here, but how about optical fiber without cladding and directly coated? and the coating material have a lower refraction index than the core which can make the total internal reflection (TIR) happen.
Or maybe it is because the coating material is opaque (like some kind of plastic) and will absorb the energy of light? And will the reflection happen on the interface between transparent material and opaque material? how it would be?