photonic bandgap fibers (original) (raw)

Definition: optical fibers where light is guided based on a photonic bandgap effect

Category: article belongs to category fiber optics and waveguides fiber optics and waveguides

Related: hollow-core fibersphotonic crystal fibersfibers

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What are Photonic Bandgap Fibers?

Photonic bandgap fibers are optical fibers where a photonic bandgap effect rather than a fiber core region with increased refractive index is utilized for guiding light. Such a guiding mechanism normally works only in a limited wavelength region. The conceptually simplest kind of realization is a kind of two-dimensional Bragg mirror.

The earliest realization of photonic bandgap fibers, called Bragg fibers, was based on concentric rings with different refractive index [1]. Later, a special type of photonic crystal fiber has been developed, which also implements guidance with a photonic bandgap [3, 6], but in this case based on tiny air holes.

The refractive index of the core itself can be lower than that of the cladding structure. The core can even be hollow (→ hollow-core fibers), so that its refractive index is that of air (close to 1). Obviously, the conventional mechanism of guiding light based on total internal reflection could not work here, but a photonic bandgap allows light guiding based on other physical principles. As most of the light is then propagating in air rather than in glass (air-guiding fibers), such kinds of hollow-core photonic bandgap fibers may be used for guiding light in spectral regions where the absorption in the glass is relatively high. For example, light from a CO2 laser may be guided. Also, hollow-core fibers have a very weak nonlinearity, which makes them promising e.g. for the dispersive compression of ultrashort pulses with high peak power, or for the delivery of high-power laser beams.

However, photonic bandgap fibers are generally more difficult to produce due to their tight fabrication tolerances, have a limited bandwidth for low-loss transmission, and often exhibit relatively high propagation losses. It is also substantially more difficult to understand and model their propagation characteristics, compared to index-guiding fibers.

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ section was generated with AI based on the article content and has been reviewed by the article’s author (RP).

What is a photonic bandgap fiber?

A photonic bandgap fiber is an optical fiber that uses a photonic bandgap effect to guide light, rather than the conventional mechanism of total internal reflection in a higher-index core. This guiding principle typically works only in a limited wavelength range.

Can photonic bandgap fibers guide light in a hollow core?

Yes, they can. The core's refractive index can be lower than the cladding's, and it can even be hollow (air-filled). The photonic bandgap in the cladding structure confines the light to the core, a mechanism that does not rely on total internal reflection.

What are some applications of hollow-core photonic bandgap fibers?

What are the main challenges of photonic bandgap fibers?

Compared to conventional fibers, they are generally more difficult to manufacture, have a more limited bandwidth for low-loss transmission, and often exhibit higher propagation losses.

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Bibliography

[1] P. Yeh, A. Yariv and E. Marom, “Theory of Bragg fiber”, J. Opt. Soc. Am. 68 (9), 1196 (1978); doi:10.1364/JOSA.68.001196
[2] C. M. de Sterke et al., “Differential losses in Bragg fibers”, J. Appl. Phys. 76 (2), 680 (1993); doi:10.1063/1.357811
[3] T. A. Birks et al., “Full 2-d photonic bandgaps in silica/air structures”, Electron. Lett. 31, 1941 (1995); doi:10.1049/el:19951306
[4] J. Broeng et al., “Highly increased photonic band gaps in silica/air structures”, Opt. Commun. 156, 240 (1998); doi:10.1016/S0030-4018(98)00470-2
[5] Y. Fink et al., “A dielectric omnidirectional reflector”, Science 282, 1679 (1998); doi:10.1126/science.282.5394.1679
[6] R. F. Cregan et al., “Single-mode photonic band gap guidance of light in air”, Science 285, 1537 (1999) (first hollow-core PCF); doi:10.1126/science.285.5433.1537
[7] S. Johnson et al., “Low-loss asymptotically single-mode propagation in large-core OmniGuide fibers”, Opt. Express 9 (13), 748 (2001); doi:10.1364/OE.9.000748
[8] K. Saitoh and M. Koshiba, “Photonic bandgap fibers with high birefringence”, IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 14, 1291 (2002); doi:10.1109/LPT.2002.801045
[9] B. Temelkuran et al., “Wavelength-scalable hollow optical fibres with large photonic bandgaps for CO2 laser transmission”, Nature 420, 650 (2002); doi:10.1038/nature01275
[10] S. Guo et al., “Comparative analysis of Bragg fibers”, Opt. Express 12 (1), 198 (2004); doi:10.1364/OPEX.12.000198
[11] P. J. Roberts et al., “Ultimate low loss of hollow-core photonic crystal fibres”, Opt. Express 13 (1), 236 (2005); doi:10.1364/OPEX.13.000236
[12] G. Ren et al., “Low-loss all-solid photonic bandgap fiber”, Opt. Lett. 32 (9), 1023 (2007); doi:10.1364/OL.32.001023
[13] S. FĂ©vrier et al., “High-power photonic-bandgap fiber laser”, Opt. Lett. 33 (9), 989 (2008); doi:10.1364/OL.33.000989
[14] E. M. Dianov, M. E. Likhachev and S. FĂ©vrier, “Solid-core photonic bandgap fibers for high-power fiber lasers”, IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron. 15 (1), 20 (2009); doi:10.1109/JSTQE.2008.2010247
[15] Z. Várallyay et al., “Photonic bandgap fibers with resonant structures for tailoring the dispersion”, Opt. Express 17 (14), 11869 (2009); doi:10.1364/OE.17.011869
[16] W. Li et al., “151 W monolithic diffraction-limited Yb-doped photonic bandgap fiber laser at ∌978 nm”, Opt. Express 27 (18), 24972 (2019); doi:10.1364/OE.27.024972
[17] B. Pulford et al., “kW-level monolithic single-mode narrow-linewidth all-solid photonic bandgap fiber amplifier”, Opt. Lett. 46 (18), 4458 (2021); doi:10.1364/OL.434879

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