Fibre Bragg Gratings Inscribed in Homemade Microstructured Fibres

Fibre Bragg gratings （FBGs） are inscribed in homemade microstructured fibres by the standard phase mask method. Enhanced couplings between the forward fundamental mode and backward cladding modes are obtained. The mode coupling and spectral characteristics are investigated experimentally. The cladding mode resonances can be affected by filling active materials into the air holes, which will be useful for the implementation of tunable photonic devices in optical fibre communication and sensing systems.     

Mode Exciting Properties of Photonic Crystal Fibres with the Optical Field Incident from a Single Mode Fibre

We numerically investigate the mode exciting properties of photonic crystal fibres by using the beam propagation method when the optical field is input from a traditional single mode fibre. The results show that both the excited mode spectrum and the coupling-efficiency of each excited mode depend on the normalized pitch А/λ and the normalized hole-size А/λ. Furthermore, we obtain the boundary profile of the optimizing coupling-efficiency for the excited fundamental mode： the boundary （А/λ）＊ is linear to the boundary （А/λ）. All of these will pave the way for smoothing applications of photonic-crystal fibres, such as splicing and designing photonic-crystal-fibre functional devices.     

Quantum Size Effect of Inner Cladding Fibres with InP Nano Thin Films

Optical amplified characteristics of inner cladding fibres with InP thin films are tested. The results indicate that this kind of fibres exhibit better optical amplification, which is advantageous for short lengths of fibres. The amplification coefficients of per unit length are 1.40-5.12 dB/m at the wave band from 906 to 1044 nm, 1.40- 15.35dB/m from 1080 to 1491nm, and 1.86-7.44dB/m from 1524 to 1596nm. Based on the hydrogen atomic model, we calculate the comparative size of the InP particle aB = 8.313 nm. The result displays the quantum size effect. By calculating the change of the energy band of particles with different sizes, the experimental data are explained by quantum size effect.     

Properties of Zero Dispersion Wavelengths in Silica Strands and Photonic Crystal Fibres

To design and calculate the zero-dispersion wavelength is one of the important aspects for highly nonlinear photonic crystal fibres. By using the air filling fraction f defined as f = （ 6d） / （ 2π∧ ） here for the cladding effective index, and the step effective index model, the relationship between the properties of chromatic dispersion and the two different structures has been analysed. It is pointed that the variation of the zero dispersion wavelength is insensitive to the core diameter change in one range of core diameter D, while keeping the air filling fraction f constant. In the other range of core diameter D, the photonic crystal fibres have the best nearly-zero ultraflattened dispersion. These properties are significant to the design of chromatic dispersion and zero dispersion wavelength in photonic crystal fibres.     

Design of Microstructured Optical Fibres with Elliptical Air Holes for Properties： Single-Polarization Single-Mode and Nearly Zero Ultra-Flattened Dispersion

By using the complex finite element method （FEM） under perfectly matched layer （PML） boundary conditions, dispersion properties of microstructured optical fibres （MOFs） with elliptical air holes are analysed by changing the pitch and sizes of air holes belonging to the inner three rings. Meanwhile, the confinement loss of the fundamental mode is engineered to achieve the single-polarization single-mode transmission. Based on this analysis, a novel design of MOFs for properties of the single-polarization single-mode and the nearly zero ultraflattened dispersion between lpskm^-1 nm^-1 in the wavelength range of 1.2-1.6μm is presented for the first time.     

Amplification Characteristics of Optical Fibres Doped with Nano Materials of InP

We take an enhanced structure of existing optical fibres to investigate the amplification characteristics. Nano and optical fibre technologies both are employed in our structure, i.e. the so-called nano-film amplification fibre where nano-film is inserted between the core and the inner cladding of the optical fibre. In the developed model, InP is chosen as a doped semiconductor to examine its amplification performance and 69.7nm is chosen as the thickness of the film. From our experimental results, the optical fibre structure shows its significant amplification characteristics for wavelength between 1080nm and 1491 nm. Amplification characteristics are also found in wavelengths 906-1044 nm and 1524-1596nm.     

All-solid silica-based photonic crystal fibers

An index-guiding all-solid photonic crystal fiber (PCF) composed entirely of silica material is proposed in this paper. The core of this optical fiber is composed of pure silica, and the cladding consists of doped silica rod in the background of pure silica. The dependence of confinement loss on the diameter of the doped rods, the number of doped-rod rings, and the doping level is investigated numerically. In addition, the proposed fiber possesses a shorter cutoff wavelength as compared with the air/silica PCF, which is directly confirmed by the V parameter, and explained based on a scalar approximation method. Furthermore, the bending loss for the fiber is predicted. A low-loss single-mode all-solid silica-based PCF with a large-mode-area is possible by the appropriate selection of configuration parameters.     

A new solution of reducing polymer optical fiber losses

Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is one of the most commonly used optical materials. However, the application of it in the area of optical communication is strongly limited by the intrinsic absorption loss of carbon-hydrogen stretching vibration. In this paper, we present a method to solve the problem by adopting the hollow-core fibers with cobweb cladding structure. The fibers use a single dielectric material and may solve the problem of structural support. Thus the feasibility of the “OmniGuide” fibers is improved, while a series of advantages of the “OmniGuide” hollow-core fiber are retained. It is promising that a fiber with low transmission loss, high bandwidth, large-core, and low costs can be designed and fabricated using PMMA. At the same time, a very broad range of the wavelengths (from visible to near infrared region, for instance, wavelengths at 0.65-1.12 μm, and even 1.30 μm, 1.54 μm and their neighbors) may be adopted for signal wavelength.     

Cladding index modulated fiber grating

A new type of fiber grating with only cladding index modulation is presented. Characteristics of both cladding index modulated short-period fiber grating (FBG) and long-period fiber grating (LPFG) are analyzed. The calculation of the modes involved in this paper is based on a model of three-layer step-index fiber geometry. Transmission of a mode guided by the core through a cladding index modulated grating when evanescent field coupling occurs is analyzed with couple-mode theory. Evanescent field coupling causes a power flowing from the core to the cladding, so the attenuation of the new grating is analyzed as well. Lower attenuation, flexible spectral characteristics are demonstrated in comparison with traditional fiber core index modulated grating.     

Bend-Induced Distortion in Large Mode Area Holey Fibre

A simplified scheme of bend-induced mode distortion is introduced into bent holey fibres, the distorted mode distribution and mode effective area reduction are investigated using the finite difference method. Numerical results show that the modes of bent holey fibres with small bend radius shift away from the core and are deformed greatly, and the mode areas drop significantly as the bend radius decreases, which severely affects the fibre laser performance. The propagation characteristics of bent holey fibres at given wavelength are determined by fill factor and normalized bend radius. Finally, the transition normalized bend radius that represents the location of the mode area beginning to fall off is obtained.     

Long Optical Delay Lines Enhanced by Ring Configuration in Optical Fibres

A long optically controlled delay line enhanced by ring configuration is demonstrated by using the group-velocity control of signal pulses based on stimulated Brillouin scattering. In experiment, two optical fibre ring cavities are used： one is used as the Brillouin laser, providing single-mode Stokes wave as probe wave; the other is used as the Brillouin amplifier, working as slow light medium. We achieve a maximum time delay of 215ns using the ring Brillouin amplifier, five times larger than the input probe pulse width of 40ns. In the meantime, a considerable pulse broadening is observed, which agrees well with the theoretical prediction based on linear theory.     

Design of defect-core in highly birefringent photonic crystal fibers with anisotropic claddings

The influence of defect-core on the birefringence and confinement losses of rectangular-lattice photonic crystal fibers are investigated numerically by applying the multipole method. Numerical results illustrate that the birefringence in such fibers is determined not only by the arrangement of air holes in the cladding but also the shape of the core. It is found that asymmetry of the core represented by its rectangular shape implies a higher effective index of the mode that is parallel with the longer side of the rectangle, whereas the anisotropic rectangular-lattice cladding gives rise to just the opposite effect and thus the resulting birefringence can be controlled by a proper combinations of both mechanisms. In particular, effect of the asymmetry of the core on the birefringence is dominant for shorter wavelength. Increased birefringence and reduced confinement loss can be achieved, if we form the core by the omission of several air holes in a row to reduce its negative effect on the birefringence. On the other hand, when asymmetry is increased in the other direction, a negative birefringence at shorter wavelength can be achieved. This occurs due to the fact that asymmetry of the core at higher frequencies overcomes the effect of the asymmetric cladding. As a result, its possible to achieve zero birefringence in anisotropic cladding photonic crystal fiber with an asymmetric core.     

Low Loss Plastic Terahertz Photonic Band-Gap Fibres

We report a numerical investigation on terahertz wave propagation in plastic photonic band-gap fibres which are characterized by a 19-unit-cell air core and hexagonal Mr holes with rounded corners in cladding. Using the finite element method, the leakage loss and absorption loss are calculated and the transmission properties are analysed. The lowest loss of 0.268 dB/m is obtained. Numerical results show that the fibres could liberate the constraints of background materials beyond the transparency region in terahertz wave band, and efficiently minimize the effect of absorption by background materials, which present great advantage of plastic photonic band-gap fibres in long distance terahertz delivery.     

Three-Wave Resonant Interaction in Optical Fibres on a Continuous-Wave Background

We predict that a three-wave resonant interaction (TWRI) for the excitations created from a continuous-wave background is possible in nonlinear optical fibres with a centro-symmetry. We show that in normal dispersion regime and near the zero-dispersion point of a single-mode optical fibre, the phase-matching condition for the TWRI can be satisfied by suitably choosing the wavevectors and frequencies of the exciting waves. The nonlinear envelope equations for the TWRI are derived by using a method of multiple-scales, and their explicit solutions for sum- and difference-frequency mixing are provided and discussed.     

Numerical Simulation and Experimental Analysis of Photonic Band Gap in Hollow-Core Photonic Crystal Fibres

Based on the full-vector plane-wave method （FVPWM）, a hollow-core photonic crystal fibre （HC-PCF） fabricated by using the improved stack-and-draw technique is simulated. Under given propagation constants β, several effective photonie band gaps with different sizes emerge within the visible wavelength range from 575 to 720 nm. The fundamental mode and second-order mode lying in a part of PBGs are investigated. In the transmission spectrum tested, the positions of PBGs are discovered to be shifting to shorter wavelengths. The main reason is the existence of interstitial holes at nodes in the cladding region. In the later experiment, green light is observed propagating in the air-core region, and the result is more consistent with our theoretical simulation.     

Tapered photonic crystal fibres: properties, characterisation and applications

Microstructured optical fibres (MOFs) have attracted much interest in recent times, due to their unique waveguiding properties that are vastly different from those of conventional step-index fibres. Tapering of these MOFs promises to significantly extend and enhance their capabilities. In this paper, we review the fabrication and characterisation techniques of these fibre tapers, and explore their fundamental waveguiding properties and potential applications. We fabricate photonic crystal fibre tapers without collapsing the air-holes, and confirm this with a non-invasive probing technique that enables the characterisation of the internal microstructure along the taper. We then describe the fundamental property of such tapers associated with the leakage of the core mode that leads to long-wavelength loss, influencing the operational bandwidth of these tapers. We also revisit the waveguiding properties in another form of tapered MOF photonic wires, which transition through waveguiding regimes associated with how strongly the mode is isolated from the external environment. We explore these regimes as a potential basis for evanescent field sensing applications, in which we can take advantage of air-hole collapse as an extra dimension to these photonic wires.     

Anti-Stokes Frequency Shift and Evolution in Polarization-Maintaining Photonic Crystal Fiber with Two-Zero Dispersion Wavelengths

Using the tunable pump pulses with about lOO fs pulse duration and 1064 nm central wavelength; the polarization-, wavelength- and power-dependent anti-Stokes lines are generated and modulated simultaneously in a polarization-maintaining photonie crystal fiber （PM-PCF） with two zero-dispersion wavelengths. By accurately controlling the polarization directions, the wavelength and the power of the pump pulse in the fiber anomalous region close to the second zero-dispersion wavelength of the PM-PCF, the output anti-Stokes pulse spectra can be tuned between 563 nm and 603 nm, which is in good agreement with the theoretical simulation. The color conversion of the mode image from yellow to orange is also observed with the different polarization pump pulses. These results can be attributed to the combined interaction between the fiber birefringence （including linear- and nonlinear- birefringence） and dispersion, and are attributed to phase-matching parametric four-wave mixing.     

Theoretical Design of Single-Polarization Single-Mode Microstructured Polymer Optical Fibres

Using the full-vector plane-wave expansion method, a kind of PMMA-based polarization-maintaining microstructured optical fibre （PM-mPOF） is theoretically studied. Dependence of the cutoff wavelengths of the two orthogonal polarization states （polarized along the two principal axes of PM-mPOF） on the structure parameters of the fibre is investigated in detail A single-polarization single-mode （SPSM） PM-mPOF working in the visible region is designed and optimized with the result of the maximum SPSM bandwidth of 140nm.     

Generation of Efficient Dispersive Waves in Photonic Crystal Fibers

Based on the generalized nonlinear Schroedinger equation, we investigate efficient dispersive wave （DW） generation in a photonic crystal fiber （POF） by numerical simulation and discuss a way to control DW generation by using an initial input pulse chirp. It is shown that efficient red-shifted DW generation can be obtained in a PCF with negative dispersion slopes. The energy contained in the DWs is considerably decreased for both positively and negatively chirped pulses at the fiber output. This provides us with an opportunity to conveniently and efficiently manipulate the DW generation by controlling the pre-chirp of the soliton. Moreover, we also show that forth- and higher-order dispersion terms play Iittle part in deciding the evolution of DWs.     

Characteristics of side-polished thermally expanded core fiber and its application as a band-edge filter with a high cut-off property

Characteristics of the side-polished thermally expanded core (TEC) fiber have been investigated theoretically and experimentally. The effect of core expanding on the transmission of the side-polished TEC fiber is predicted theoretically and demonstrated experimentally. The side-polished TEC fiber covered with an external medium whose chromatic dispersion is much different from the fiber materials, is applied to a band-edge filter with a high cut-off. The relationship between the expanded core diameter and the performance of the band-edge filter was measured and discussed.