Selective filling of metals into photonic crystal fibers

Abstract

In this paper we present a method for the selective blocking and subsequent filling of metals into photonic crystal fibers. We derive a model which can predict the necessary duration of the filling process. With a melt and pump procedure we obtain single micron sized metal wires adjacent to the PCF core with aspect ratios of about 10 5 . We will present a semi-analytical solution of the dispersion relation of a cylindrical metal wire in a dielectric and discuss the results with respect to surface plasmon polaritons. By comparision with finite element simulations of an unfilled photonic crystal fiber we will show that a coupling between a core mode and surface mode is possible at specific phase matching wavelengths. Furthermore, measurements of transmission spectra will be presented to confirm the mode coupling between the fundamental core mode and the surface plasmon polariton of order m = 3.

Temperature Sensor by Using Selectively Filled Photonic Crystal Fiber Sagnac Interferometer

“…However, the selective filling, which can give better performance or more interesting phenomena, normally requires a complex process like several times of injection-cure-cleave step using UV curable polymer [10], deposition and drilling using femtosecond laser [16], or attachment of adhesive on specific voids using an ultrasmall optical fiber tip [14].…”

“…A variety of liquids, such as aqueous solutions, index oils [8], [9], polymers [10], liquid crystals [11]- [13], and even metals [14], have been employed to fulfill applications of optical sensing, switching, or communications. A high-sensitivity temperature sensor was reported using nonselective infiltration of alcohol in PCF.…”

Temperature Sensor Based on an Asymmetric Two-Hole Fiber Using a Sagnac Interferometer

“…As we mentioned before, the liquid insertion in MSF improves the temperature sensitivity. However, they also have several drawbacks that limit their use such as the cost, preform design, hole-matrix fabrication in the MSF structure, and complex technique in the partial or total filling mechanism [31,32].…”

Externally Liquid-Filled Photonic Crystal Fibers with High Output Intensity and Low Confinement Loss

“…To illustrate the dependence of PCFs performance and structural parameters such as the diameter of air holes (d) or the hole pitch (Λ), recently, comprehensive designs which have proposed several distinctive amounts for these parameters, have been studied [3][4][5]. In the recent decades, a variety of liquids, such as index oils [6,7], polymers [8], liquid crystals [9], and even metals [10] have been employed to infiltrate into the holes of the PCFs to form the liquid-filled PCFs. These sorts of PCFs can be utilized in optical sensing [11], switching [12], or communications [13].…”