Designing Ultra-High-Birefringent Photonic Crystal Fibers with Circular Air Holes in the Cladding

Abstract

This article reports a new air-silica photonic crystal fiber structure of high birefringence (~10^?2). The birefringence is due to large axial anisotropy introduced in the fiber geometry by a preferred arrangement of circular air holes of different sizes in the cladding structure along orthogonal directions. A series study of birefringence and cut-off properties of the fiber that leads to optimization of geometrical parameters toward maximized birefringence achievable in the single-mode regime through this micro-structure is provided. Also, other inherently related modal properties of the fiber and the stack design toward preform realization are investigated. The findings should be useful in realizing high-performance high-birefringence fiber.