Surface plasmon resonance-induced tunable polarization filters based on nanoscale gold film-coated photonic crystal fibers

Surface plasmon resonance induced tunable polarization filters based on nanoscale gold film-coated photonic crystal fibers were proposed and analyzed. The characteristics of the polarization filter were calculated by finite element method (FEM). The gold film was selectively coated on the inner wall of one cladding air hole which was located near the fiber core along the y-axis direction. When the phase of core fundamental mode and surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) mode matches, the two modes couple with each other intensely. Numerical results show that the resonance wavelength and strength vary with fiber structural parameters and the index of the infilling liquid. The fiber parameters were optimized to achieve specific functions. Under the optimal structure, we realized a dual channel filter at the communication wavelength of 1.31 μm and 1.55 μm for y polarization direction and x polarization direction. Then a single channel polarized filter at the communication wavelength of 1.55 μm is also achieved by adjusting the refractive index of the infilling liquid. The proposed polarization filters realized dual channel filtering and single channel filtering simultaneously under the same structure for the first time to the best of our knowledge.