Multiplexer–Demultiplexer based on nematic liquid crystal photonic crystal fiber coupler

A novel design of Multiplexer–Demultiplexer (MUX–DEMUX) based on index guiding soft glass nematic liquid crystal (NLC) based photonic crystal fiber coupler is proposed and analyzed. The simulation results are obtained using the full vectorial finite difference method as well as the full vectorial finite difference beam propagation method. The numerical results reveal that the proposed MUX–DEMUX of length 3.265 mm can provide low crosstalk better than −20dB with great bandwidths of 40 and 24 nm around the wavelengths of 1.3 and 1.55 μm, respectively. In addition, the reported MUX–DEMUX has a tolerance of ±3% in its length which makes the design more robust to the perturbation introduced during the fabrication process.

[1]  Anders Bjarklev,et al.  Selective filling of Photonic Crystal Fibres , 2005 .

[2]  P. Russell,et al.  Endlessly single-mode photonic crystal fiber. , 1997, Optics letters.

[3]  B.M.A. Rahman,et al.  New full-vectorial numerically efficient propagation algorithm based on the finite element method , 2000, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[4]  A. Bjarklev,et al.  Electrically tunable photonic bandgap guidance in a liquid-crystal-filled photonic crystal fiber , 2005, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[5]  Jonathan Knight,et al.  Large mode area photonic crystal fiber , 1998 .

[6]  K. Saitoh,et al.  Synthesis of polarization-independent splitters based on highly birefringent dual-core photonic crystal fiber platforms , 2006, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[7]  F Benabid,et al.  Hollow-core photonic bandgap fibre: new light guidance for new science and technology , 2006, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[8]  Wei-Ping Huang,et al.  Simulation of three-dimensional optical waveguides by a full-vector beam propagation method , 1993 .

[9]  B. M. A. Rahman,et al.  Full vectorial finite-element-based imaginary distance beam propagation solution of complex modes in optical waveguides , 2002 .

[10]  Shin-Tson Wu,et al.  Electrically tunable liquid-crystal photonic crystal fiber , 2004 .

[11]  Limin Xiao,et al.  Fabrication of selective injection microstructured optical fibers with a conventional fusion splicer. , 2005, Optics express.

[12]  Julian D. C. Jones,et al.  Experimental measurement of group velocity dispersion in photonic crystal fibre , 1999 .

[13]  Yanyi Huang,et al.  Fabrication of functional microstructured optical fibers through a selective-filling technique , 2004 .

[14]  Ross C. McPhedran,et al.  Differential multipole method for microstructured optical fibers , 2004 .

[15]  Kunimasa Saitoh,et al.  A novel approach for designing photonic crystal fiber splitters with polarization-independent propagation characteristics. , 2005, Optics express.

[16]  Shin‐Tson Wu,et al.  Infrared refractive indices of liquid crystals , 2005 .

[17]  Jonathan Knight,et al.  Large mode area photonic crystal fibre , 1998 .

[18]  John A. Rogers,et al.  In-fiber nematic liquid crystal optical modulator based on in-plane switching with microsecond response time , 2002 .

[19]  Luca Vincetti,et al.  Finite-element full-vectorial propagation analysis for three-dimensional z-varying optical waveguides , 1998 .

[20]  Brian Joseph Mangan,et al.  Experimental study of dual-core photonic crystal fibre , 2000 .

[21]  Kunimasa Saitoh,et al.  Coupling characteristics of dual-core photonic crystal fiber couplers. , 2003, Optics express.

[22]  Ming-Yang Chen,et al.  Polarization-Independent Splitter Based on All-Solid Silica-Based Photonic-Crystal Fibers , 2006, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[23]  T. Murphy,et al.  Vector Finite Difference Modesolver for Anisotropic Dielectric Waveguides , 2008, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[24]  Changxi Yang,et al.  Polarization-dependent coupling in twin-core photonic crystal fibers , 2004 .

[25]  Polarization dependent guiding in liquid crystal filled photonic crystal fibers , 2008 .

[26]  A Modified full-vectorial finite-difference beam propagation method based on H-fields for optical waveguides with step-index profiles , 2006 .

[27]  J. Leong.  Fabrication and applications of lead-silicate glass holey fibre for 1-1.5microns: nonlinearity and dispersion trade offs , 2007 .