Polarizing photonic crystal fibers with wide operation range

We show that holey fibers of specific construction can be used as very wide-band fiber-optic polarizers. Similarly to traditional polarizing fibers, the operation principle of the holey polarizers is related to the difference in cut-off wavelengths of the two orthogonally polarized fundamental modes. Two fiber structures were analyzed and optimized for highest possible polarization bandwidth. In the first structure having the polarization bandwidth up to 480 nm, the dissimilarity in the cut-off wavelengths is induced by introducing a pair of large air holes adjacent to the fiber core. In the second structure, the polarization bandwidth is further enlarged up to 1300 nm by adding a small hole in the center of the fiber core.

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