Fusion splicing small-core photonic crystal fibers and single-mode fibers by repeated arc discharges

We demonstrate a novel method for low-loss splicing small-core photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) and single-mode fibers (SMFs) by repeated arc discharges using a conventional fusion splicer. An optimum mode field match at the interface of PCF-SMF and an adiabatic mode field variation in the longitudinal direction of the small-core PCF can be achieved by repeated arc discharges applied over the splicing joint to gradually collapse the air holes of the small-core PCF. This method is simple and offers a practical solution for light coupling between small-core PCFs and SMFs.     

Fusion splicing small-core photonic crystal fibers and single-mode fibers by controlled air hole collapse

A method based on controlled air hole collapse for low-loss fusion splicing small-core photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) and single-mode fibers (SMFs) was demonstrated. A taper rig was used to control air hole collapse accurately to enlarge the MFDs of PCFs which was then spliced with SMFs using a fusion splicer. An optimum mode field match at the interface of PCF-SMF was achieved and a low-loss with 0.64 dB was obtained from 3.57 dB for a PCF with 4 μm MFD and a SMF with 10.4 μm MFD experimentally.     

Splice-free interfacing of photonic crystal fibers

We report a new method for making low-loss interfaces between conventional single-mode fibers and photonic crystal fibers (PCFs). Adapted from the fabrication of PCF preforms from stacked tubes and rods, this method avoids the need for splicing and is versatile enough to interface to virtually any type of index-guiding silica PCF. We illustrate the method by forming interfaces to two problematic types of PCF, highly nonlinear and multicore. In particular, we believe this to be the first method capable of individually coupling light into and out of all the cores of a fiber with multiple closely spaced cores, without input or output cross talk.     

光子晶体光纤模场直径增加方法

通过加热光子晶体光纤,其包层中空气孔由于表面张力的作用而塌缩减小。理论和实验结果表明,空气孔的塌缩在满足波导的渐变条件下,引入的能量损耗非常小。空气孔的塌缩减小,可以有效地增加光子晶体光纤的模场直径,从而不仅可以提高光耦合的效率和光纤端面的损伤阈值,而且可以降低与其它模场直径不匹配的普通光纤的熔接损耗。     

Stimulated Brillouin scattering by the interaction between different-order optical and acoustical modes in an As_2Se_3 photonic crystal fiber

Brillouin gain spectra(BGS)in an As2Se3 photonic crystal fiber(PCF)are investigated numerically.The profiles of the BGS are simulated by calculating the characteristics of different-order optical and acoustic waves in the PCFs with different core diameters.For the small-core PCF,there are two peaks in BGS,but there is only one peak for the large-core PCF.We also reveal that in the small-core PCF,the difference of Brillouin frequency shift between the LP01 and LP11 modes is obvious,while it is not obvious in the large-core PCF.The Brillouin threshold increases with the core diameter increasing.     

Hydrophobic photonic crystal fibers

We propose and demonstrate hydrophobic photonic crystal fibers (PCFs). A chemical surface treatment for making PCFs hydrophobic is introduced. This repels water from the holes of PCFs, so that their optical properties remain unchanged even when they are immersed in water. The combination of a hollow core and a water-repellent inner surface of the hydrophobic PCF provides an ultracompact dissolved-gas sensor element, which is demonstrated for the sensing of dissolved ammonia gas.     

To optimize splice joint between different PCF-based devices and SMF transmission medium

An analysis of splice loss between photonic crystal fibers （PCFs） and conventional single-mode fibers （SMFs） is presented at bending and straight conditions, by using scalar effective index method （SEIM）, vectorial effective index method （VEIM）, and finite-difference frequency domain （FDFD） methods. It is shown that when there is a slight bending at the vicinity of splice joint, the spot size increases sharply at higher frequencies. On the basis of the obtained results, a mechanism to optimize the splice loss between PCFs and conventional SMFs, both with any geometry, is suggested. The results can be utilized for PCF- based devices to be jointed to SMF as a transmission medium.     

椭圆孔光子晶体光纤的本地正交函数模型

提出了一种用于分析椭圆孔光子晶体光纤的正交函数模型.发展了一种新型超格子的构造方法，将光子晶体光纤的横向介电常数表示为两种周期性结构叠加，这两种周期性结构分别用余弦函数展开；同时将横向电场以Hermite-Gaussian函数展开.利用正交函数的性质，将全矢量波动方程转化为矩阵本征值问题，求得两偏振模式传输常数.利用此模型可以研究圆孔及椭圆孔光子晶体光纤的模式特性、色散特性、偏振特性等. 关键词： 光子晶体光纤 超格子 正交函数 本征值问题     

Splicing of index-guiding microstructured optical fibers and single-mode fibers by controlled air-hole collapse: an analytical approach

Low-loss splicing of index-guiding microstructured optical fibers (MOFs) and conventional single-mode fibers (SMFs) can be achieved by enlarging the mode field diameter of MOFs, which leads to an optimum mode field match at the joint interface. We study analytically the low-loss fusion splicing between an MOF and an SMF by expanding the modal field of MOF, using the controlled air-hole collapse method. Our method is simple and offers analytical solution for light coupling between MOFs and SMFs. Comparisons with available experimental and simulation results have also been included.     

Structural analysis of photonic crystal fibers by side scattering of laser light

A side-scattering technique for investigating the inner microstructure of photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) is reported. Multiple scattering is reduced by filling the hollow PCF channels with index-matching fluid. The scattered signal is measured for fixed angles of incidence and detection while the fiber is rotated. A pattern of peaks, unique to each PCF, whether solid or hollow core, correlates closely with the symmetry planes of the PCF structure. As an example of the technique, the twist profile of a structural rocking filter is directly measured.     

Analytical evaluation of bending loss oscillations in photonic crystal fibers

In this paper we present an analytical formula for bending loss oscillations in photonic crystal fibers (PCFs). We follow the approach originally adopted for conventional double-clad fibers and show that it can be applied to PCFs by substituting the structural parameters of the conventional fiber by their PCF counterparts. We then examine the spectral dependence of the critical bending radius and the position of the first order loss peak as a function of structural parameters of the PCF cladding such as the fill factor and the number of hole rings. Finally, we evaluate the precision of the analytical model by comparing the results to finite element calculations for a selection of PCF geometries.     

Structural long-period gratings in photonic crystal fibers

We report what is believed to be the first example of structural long-period gratings written in pure silica photonic crystal fibers (PCFs). The gratings are realized by periodic collapse of the holes of the PCF by heat treatment with a CO(2) laser. The resulting periodic hole-size perturbation produces core-to-cladding-mode conversion. These results can lead to a new family of structural all-fiber devices that use the unique properties of PCFs.     

Tunable photonic crystal fiber coupler based on a side-polishing technique

A tunable photonic crystal fiber (PCF) coupler, which couples part of the optical power in one PCF with that in another PCF, has been made by side polishing. We fabricated the PCF coupler by mating two side-polished PCFs. We achieved evanescent field coupling between the core modes of the two PCFs by using side polishing to bring the cores close to each other. By adjusting the mating angle between the two side-polished PCFs we obtained as much as 90% tunability in the coupling ratio. The spectrum of the coupling ratio was almost flat, with small ripples, over a 400-nm wavelength range.     

A novel polarization splitter based on dual-core hybrid photonic crystal fibers

Highly birefringent dual-core photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) can be used as a polarization splitter because the orthogonal polarization modes with dissimilar coupling lengths are easily separated from each other. Different from the traditional methods achieving high birefringence, a new highly birefringent hybrid PCF that guides light by both index guiding and bandgap guiding is proposed. Firstly, a novel polarization splitter based on this kind of dual-core hybrid PCF is designed. The transmission modes, coupling lengths for the two orthogonal polarizations and performance of the proposed polarization splitter are investigated and numerically analyzed. The results demonstrate that it is possible to obtain a 4.72-mm-long polarization splitter. The splitting ratio is better than −20 dB in a large wavelength range of 1.53-1.72 μm. Its bandwidth is about 190 nm.     

Tunable fiber gratings fabricated in photonic crystal fiber by use of mechanical pressure

The mode-coupling properties of tunable long-period fiber gratings (LPGs) formed in photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) are presented. The mode coupling from the fundamental core mode to a cladding mode of a PCF is obtained by use of periodic mechanical pressure. The strength and the wavelength of the resonant peak are tuned by adjusting the grating period and the pressure applied on the PCF. Contrary to the conventional fiber case, the resonant wavelength of the PCF LPG is decreased by increasing the periodicity.     

Lensed photonic crystal fiber obtained by use of an arc discharge

A lensed photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is proposed as an effective element for an optical free-space interconnector. By simultaneously forming a beam-expansion region and a focusing lens on a single piece of PCF, effective coupling between PCFs could be achieved. A long working distance of up to 1 mm with wide longitudinal and lateral tolerances was measured. The optical characteristics of the lensed PCFs and the connectors made from them are analyzed experimentally and theoretically.     

双芯光子晶体光纤中的模式干涉

应用全矢量超格子叠加模型分析了双芯光子晶体光纤(PCF)的模式特征.双芯PCF的基模和二次模分别由偏振方向不同的两个偶模和两个奇模组成，讨论了这四个模式的模式电场奇偶性.基于对双芯PCF模式电场奇偶性的认识，讨论了光纤中的矢量模式干涉问题.分析表明，不同偏振态模式的干涉不会引起芯间的功率转移，双芯PCF的芯间功率耦合是由相同偏振模式的干涉引起的.在相同偏振模式干涉过程中，光功率在两个芯子中呈余弦振荡，光纤的两个芯子一般存在约π／2的相位差.还讨论了两个不同偏振方向的耦合系数与波长的关系. 关键词： 光子晶体光纤 双芯光纤 模式 干涉 耦合     

基于谐振耦合现象的三芯光子晶体光纤带通滤波器

设计了一种三芯光子晶体光纤带通滤波器结构.利用纤芯间的谐振耦合,实现了滤波.当3个纤芯基模模式有效折射率在同一频率点实现匹配时,将产生谐振现象.通过合理选取光纤结构参数,可以使3个模式满足谐振条件.由于3个纤芯基模只在工作波长处实现有效折射率的匹配,因而纤芯间发生波长的选择性耦合.应用全矢量光束传播法(BPM)分析了这种光纤带通滤波器的性能.结果表明:在1.55 μm工作波长上,光纤耦合长度为22.8 mm;在损耗低于-3 dB前提下,通带带宽为8.9 nm.     

Numerical analyses of splice losses of photonic crystal fibers

Splice losses between a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) and a single mode fiber (SMF) or a PCF are numerically investigated by using finite element method (FEM) with the circular perfectly matched layer (PML). Results show that the splice loss between a SMF and a PCF with air holes completely collapsed can reach many times of that between a SMF and a PCF without air-hole collapse. We calculate the rotation losses between two identical PCFs of three kinds: large mode area, polarization maintaining and grapefruit. It is shown that for the large mode area PCF and the grapefruit PCF, the rotation losses are sensitive to the wavelength when the rotation angle is larger than zero degree. The non-circular mode field distribution is the main source of the rotation loss.     

Accurate radial basis function based neural network approach for analysis of photonic crystal fibers

In this paper, a new and an accurate artificial neural network approach (ANN) is presented for the analysis and design of photonic crystal fibers (PCFs). The new ANN approach is based on the radial basis functions which offer a very quick convergence and high efficiency during the ANN learning. The accuracy of the suggested approach is demonstrated via the excellent agreement between the results obtained using the presented approach and the results of the full vectorial finite difference method (FVFDM). In addition, a new design of highly birefringence PCF with low losses for the two polarized modes is presented using the proposed approach.