Dual-core photonic crystal fibers for tunable polarization mode dispersion compensation

Abstract

A novel type of dual concentric core photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is proposed and theoretically analyzed, aiming at the design of tunable dispersive fiber elements for polarization-mode-dispersion (PMD) compensation. The adjustment of the fiber's geometrical birefringence through the proper selection of structural parameters leads to very high values of differential group-delay (DGD). Moreover, the value of DGD can be dynamically tuned by infiltrating the outer core capillaries of the PCF with an optical liquid, which allows for the thermal control of its refractive index. Such fibers are envisaged as tunable dispersive fiber elements for PMD compensation or emulation modules.

Infiltrated Photonic Crystal Fibers for Sensing Applications

“…The microcapillaries in the PCF cladding provide a natural platform for their full or selective infiltration with optical liquids, which extends by far the degrees of freedom in terms of engineering the fiber’s key properties. Optical liquids have demonstrated their capacity of boosting PCF performance in numerous applications, such as in the design of tunable polarizing notch filters [107], nonlinear diffraction and supercontinuum generation [28,108], or dispersion engineering [109,110]. The refractive index (RI) of readily available optical liquids ranges between 1.3 and 2.3 and it can be controlled with very high precision as, e.g., in the commercially available series of refractive index liquids by Cargille-Sacher Laboratories Inc., Cedar Grove (NJ), USA.…”

Cascade amplification scheme with control of the amplified pulse spectral width

“…In optimistic variant the most wideband erbium-doped fiber-optic amplifiers (EDFA) with the wavelength of 1.56 μm could provide homogeneous amplification within the maximum range of about 60 nm or within the frequency band Δω ∼ 5 ⋅ 10 13 s −1 , respectively [12]. One way to decrease similariton pulse chirp is to use amplification in fibers with high normal dispersion β 2 > 5 ⋅ 10 −26 s 2 /m [13,14]. However, this method has some difficulties in realization of single-mode pulse propagation regime, and such single-mode fibers have relatively high losses.…”

Fivefold Symmetric Photonic Quasi-Crystal Fiber for Dispersion Compensation from S- to L-Band and Optimized at 1.55 μm

“…The manipulation of photonic cladding parameters allows the photonic crystal fibers to exhibit unique dispersive properties to be tailored easily for specific applications. These dispersion effects can be used to realize set of functionalities, including beam shaping such as optical pulse stretching [2], supercontinuum generation [3], harmonic generation [4], polarization mode dispersion [5], and dispersion compensation [6][7][8][9].…”

“…So, the compensation of accumulated chromatic dispersion over transmission bandwidth becomes crucial for optical networks and nonlinear applications. Single-mode fibers, used in high-speed optical networks, are subject to chromatic dispersion that causes pulse broadening depending on wavelength and polarization mode dispersion (PMD) depending on polarization states [5]. The signal degrades and limits the distance a digital signal can travel before needing regeneration or compensation.…”