Abstract. A single-polarization single-mode (SPSM) photonic crystal fiber (PCF) coupler is designed and investigated by using full-vector finite-element method with the anisotropic perfectly matched layer. We numerically analyze the SPSM coupling properties with respect to the structure parameters and confinement loss characteristics. The results reveal that the coupling length between dual cores is as small as millimeter order of magnitude due to the wide silica bridge of energy transfer, and the SPSM coupling region can be tailored to cover the communication windows of 1.3 or 1.55 μm with optimized design parameters. Moreover, the confinement loss of x polarization is 3 orders of magnitude larger than that of y polarization in single polarization range. The proposed SPSM PCF coupler may find application in polarization-sensitive systems. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.