Photonic crystal fibres and devices ...

Martijn de Sterke, Benjamin Eggleton, Boris Kuhlmey, Eric Magi, Ross McPhedran, Hong Nguyen, Paul Steinvurzel

Microstructured optical fibres (MOFs), optical fibres with holes running along their length, have attracted considerable interest in the last ten years for their extraordinary guidance properties. Depending on their geometry, MOFs can guide light through modified total internal reflection, photonic bandgap effects or, when the holes are infiltrated by high index fluids, through antiresonant backscattering from the holes (so called ARROW fibres). The different guidance mechanisms give MOF structures the ability to guide light in hollow cores, remain single-moded over an infinite wavelength range, confine light in very small cores with associated non-linear coefficients orders of magnitude higher than in standard fibres or have exceptional group velocity dispersion. Among these properties the latter two are in fact mainly due to the strong refractive index contrast between the silica core and the holes, and narrow silica rods, called microfibres, can exhibit very similar properties. Microfibres typically have diameters of the order of a micrometre, and could be used for microphotonic integration.

Because they can have large non-linear coefficients and almost arbitrary group velocity dispersion, ARROW MOFs are an excellent platform for the demonstration of non-linear processes and soliton physics. Further, the fluid's refractive index in the holes responds differently from the refractive index of the silica background, so that dispersion and confinement properties can be tuned to a large extend by controlling the temperature.

At CUDOS, we have studied the linear properties of ARROW fibres extensively, and have recently started using ARROW fibres in soliton experiments. Using temperature gradients, dispersion properties can be varied along the fibre, giving a useful additional degree of freedom for non-linear processes. We are also extending the ARROW picture of the guidance mechanism, with which important physical insight on guidance properties of the overall complex structure can be extracted from the knowledge of resonances of single inclusions. We have started using the ARROW model to design novel MOF devices, but the extended ARROW picture is not restricted to MOFs and is also useful for the understanding of planar photonic crystal structures.

CUDOS also has an extensive research program on MOF tapers and microfibres. Tapering MOFs allows post-processing of MOF properties as well as fabrication of microfibres. Microstructured and conventional fibre tapers are used within CUDOS for the coupling to and probing of planar photonic crystal waveguides and cavities, and are also studied in the context of sensing and dispersion micromanagement for enhanced non-linear processes. Microfibres are studied with the aim of using them as an alternate technique to demonstrate integrated microphotonic devices.
CUDOS research into MOFs is experimental as well as theoretical. Theoretical studies are mainly articulated around the multipole method, and its implementation in the CUDOS MOF Utilities. We have released a public version of this software suite which has been downloaded for use over 800 times in over 40 countries.

1. Kuhlmey BT, McPhedran RC
   Photonic crystal fibres with resonant coatings
   PHYSICA B-CONDENSED MATTER 394 (2): 155-158 MAY 15 2007
2. D. -I. Yeom, J. A. Bolger, G. D. Marshall, D. R. Austin, B. T. Kuhlmey, M.
   J. Withford, C. Martijn de Sterke, and B. J. Eggleton, "Tunable spectral
   enhancement of fiber supercontinuum," Opt. Lett. 32, 1644-1646 (2007)
3. D. -I. Yeom, P. Steinvurzel, B. J. Eggleton, S. D. Lim, and B. Y. Kim, "
   Tunable acoustic gratings in solid-core photonic bandgap fiber," Opt.
   Express 15, 3513-3518 (2007)
4. B. T. Kuhlmey, K. Pathmanandavel and R. C. McPhedran,
   Multipole analysis of Photonic Crystal Fibers with coated inclusions,
   Optics Express 14 (22) pp.10851-10864 (2006)
5. S. J. Myers, D. P. Fussell, J. M. Dawes, E. Mägi, R. C. McPhedran, B. J. Eggleton, and C. M. de Sterke
   Manipulation of spontaneous emission in a tapered photonic crystal fibre
   Opt. Express 14, 12439-12444 (2006)
6. P. Steinvurzel, C. Martijn de Sterke, M. J. Steel, B. T. Kuhlmey, and B. J. Eggleton
   Single scatterer Fano resonances in solid core photonic band gap fibers
   Opt. Express 14, 8797-8811 (2006)
7. B. T. Kuhlmey, H. C. Nguyen, M. J. Steel, and B. J. Eggleton
   Confinement loss in adiabatic photonic crystal fiber tapers
   J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 23, 1965-1974 (2006)
8. White TP, de Sterke CM, McPhedran RC and Botten LC
   Highly-efficient Wide-angle Transmission into Uniform Rod-type Photonic Crstals
   Applied Physics Letters, 87 111107-1-3 (2005)
9. P. Steinvurzel, C.M. de Sterke, B.J. Eggleton, B.T. Kuhlmey and M.J. Steel
   Mode field distributions in solid core photonic bandgap fibers
   Optics Communications, Volume 263, Issue 2, , 15 July 2006, Pages 207-213
10. Iredale, T.B.; Steinvurzel, P.; Eggleton, B.J.
    Electric-arc-induced long-period gratings in fluid-filled photonic bandgap fibre
    Electronics Letters , vol.42, no.13pp. 739- 740, June 22, 2006
11. P. Steinvurzel, E. D. Moore, E. C. Mägi, and B. J. Eggleton
    Tuning properties of long period gratings in photonic bandgap fibers
    Opt. Lett. 31, 2103-2105 (2006)
12. P. Steinvurzel, E. D. Moore, E. C. Mägi, B. T. Kuhlmey, and B. J. Eggleton
    Long period grating resonances in photonic bandgap fiber
    Opt. Express 14, 3007-3014 (2006)
13. Moss, D.J.; Miao, Y.; Ta'eed, V.; Magi, E.C.; Eggleton, B.J.
    Coupling to high-index waveguides via tapered microstructured optical fibre
    Electronics Letters, Vol.41, Issue 17, Pg 23-24, 18 August 2005
14. H. C. Nguyen, B. T. Kuhlmey, E. C. Mägi, M. J. Steel, P. Domachuk, C. L. Smith, B. J. Eggleton
    Tapered photonic crystal fibres: properties, characterisation and applications
    Applied Physics B: Lasers and Optics, Volume 81, Issue 2 - 3, Jul 2005, Pages 377 - 387
15. Moss, D.J.; Miao, Y.; Ta'eed, V.; Magi, E.C.; Eggleton, B.J.
    Coupling to high-index waveguides via tapered microstructured optical fibre
    Electronics Letters, Vol.41, Issue 17, Pg 23-24, 18 August 2005
16. H. C. Nguyen, B. T. Kuhlmey, E. C. Mägi, M. J. Steel, P. Domachuk, C. L. Smith, B. J. Eggleton
    Tapered photonic crystal fibres: properties, characterisation and applications
    Applied Physics B: Lasers and Optics, Volume 81, Issue 2 - 3, Jul 2005, Pages 377 - 387
17. Domachuk P, Chapman A, Magi E, Steel MJ, Nguyen HC, Eggleton BJ
    Transverse characterization of high air-fill fraction tapered photonic crystal fiber
    APPLIED OPTICS 44 (19): 3885-3892 JUL 1 2005
18. Fu LB, Marshall GD, Bolger JA, Steinvurzel P, Magi EC, Withford MJ, Eggleton BJ
    Femtosecond laser writing Bragg gratings in pure silica photonic crystal fibres
    ELECTRONICS LETTERS 41 (11): 638-640 MAY 26 2005
19. Steinvurzel P, Eggleton BJ, de Sterke CM, Steel MJ
    Continuously tunable bandpass filtering using high-index inclusion microstructured optical fibre
    Electronics Letters 41 (8), 463-464 (2005)
20. Steel MJ, Eggleton BJ, Domachuk P, Nguyen H
    Software speeds measurement and modeling of air-silica photonic crystals
    Photonics Spectra, 39 (3), 88+ MAR 2005
21. S. Wilcox, L.C. Botten, R.C. McPhedran, C.G. Poulton, and C. Martijn de Sterke
    Exact modelling of defect modes in photonic crystals
    Phys. Rev. E 71 056606:1-11 (2005)
22. Libin Fu, Ian C.M. Littler, Joe T. Mok & Benjamin Eggleton
    Matched photonic bandgap fibre and fibre Bragg grating dispersion for all in-fibre stretch pulse amplification
    Electronics Letters 41, 306-307 (2005)
23. Fuerbach, P. Steinvurzel, J.A. Bolger, A. Nulsen, B.J. Eggleton
    Nonlinear propagation effects in anti-resonant high-index inclusion photonic crystal fibers
    Optics Letters 30, 830-832 (2005)
24. Fuerbach, P. Steinvurzel, J.A. Bolger, B.J. Eggleton
    Nonlinear pulse propagation at zero dispersion wavelength in anti-resonant photonic crystal fibers
    Optics Express 13, 2977-2987 (2005)
25. Campbell S, McPhedran RC, de Sterke CM, Botten LC
    Differential multipole method for microstructured optical fibers
    Journal of the Optical Society of America B - Optical Physics, 21 (11): 1919-1928 NOV 2004
26. Nguyen HC, Kuhlmey BT, Steel MJ, Smith CL, Magi EC, McPhedran RC, Eggleton BJ
    Leakage of the fundamental mode in photonic crystal fiber tapers
    Optics Letters 30 (10): 1123-1125 May 15 2005
27. Wilcox S, Botten LC, de Sterke CM, Kuhlmey BT, McPhedran RC, Fussell DP, Tomljenovic-Hanic S
    Long wavelength behavior of the fundamental mode in microstructured optical fibers
    Optics Express 13 (6): 1978-1984 Mar 21 2005
28. Gilles Renversez, Frédéric Bordas, Boris T. Kuhlmey
    Second mode transition in microstructured optical fibers: determination of the critical geometrical parameter and study of the matrix refractive index and effects of cladding size
    Optics Letters, Vol. 30 (11) 1264 (2005)
29. E. C. Mägi, H. C. Nguyen, and B. J. Eggleton
    Air-hole collapse and mode transitions in microstructured fiber photonic wires
    Optics Express 13, 453-459 (2005)
30. P. Steinvurzel, B. T. Kuhlmey, T. P. White, M. J. Steel, C. M. de Sterke, and B. J. Eggleton
    Long wavelength anti-resonant guidance in high index inclusion microstructured fibers
    Optics Express 12, 5424-5433 (2004)
31. E.C. Magi, P. Steinvurzel, and B.J. Eggleton
    Transverse characterization of tapered photonic crystal fibers
    Journal of Applied Physics, 96 (7) 3976-3982 (2004)
32. Nguyen, H.C. Domachuk, P. Steel, M.J. Eggleton, B.J.
    Experimental and Finite-Difference Time-Domain Technique Characterisation of Transverse In-Line Photonic Crystal Fiber
    Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE, 16 (8), 1852-1854 (2004)
33. Domachuk, P. Nguyen, H.C. Eggleton, B.J.
    Transverse Probed Microfluidic Switchable Photonic Crystal Fiber Devices
    Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE, 16 (8), 1900-1902 (2004)
34. Yannick K. Lizé, Eric C. Mägi, Vahid G. Ta'eed, Jeremy A. Bolger, Paul Steinvurzel, and Benjamin J. Eggleton
    Microstructured optical fiber photonic wires with subwavelength core diameter
    Optics Express, 12 (14), 3209 - 3217 (2004)
35. Steel MJ
    Reflection symmetry and mode transversality in microstructured fibers
    Optics Express 12 (8): 1497-1509 APR 19 2004
36. H. C. Nguyen, P. Domachuk, B. J. Eggleton, M. J. Steel, M. Straub, M. Gu, and M. Sumetsky
    A new slant on photonic crystal fibers
    Optics Express 12, 1528-1539 (2004)
37. Litchinitser NM, Dunn SC, Steinvurzel PE, B. J. Eggleton, M de Sterke, Ross McPhedran
    Application of an ARROW model for designing tunable photonic devices
    Optics Express 12 (8): 1540-1550 APR 19 2004.
38. Kuhlmey BT, McPhedran RC, de Sterke CM
    Bloch method for the analysis of modes in microstructured optical fibers
    Optics Express 12 (8): 1769-1774 APR 19 2004.
39. Kerbage C, Eggleton BJ
    Manipulating light by microfluidic motion in microstructured optical fibers
    Optical Fiber Technology 10 (2): 133-149 APR 2004.
40. Domachuk P, Nguyen HC, Eggleton BJ, et al.
    Microfluidic tunable photonic band-gap device
    Applied Physics Letters 84 (11): 1838-1840 MAR 15 2004.
41. Magi EC, Steinvurzel P, Eggleton BJ
    Tapered photonic crystal fibers
    Optics Express 12 (5): 776-784 MAR 8 2004
42. Litchinitser NM, Dunn SC, Usner B, et al.
    Resonances in microstructured optical waveguides
    Optics Express 11 (10): 1243-1251 MAY 19 2003