Modal hybridism of polarization maintaining photonic crystal fibers by using a full-vectorial finite element method

Modal solutions for photonic crystal fibers with circular air holes in a hexagonal matrix are presented, by using a rigorous full-vectorial finite element-based approach. The effective indices, mode field profiles, spot-sizes, modal hybridness, modal birefringence and group velocity dispersion values have been determined and are shown and discussed. The effect of Kerr-type material nonlinearity on the modal properties and the spot-size are also shown in this paper.