Ultra-Wide-Bandwidth Tunable Magnetic Fluid-Filled Hybrid Connected Dual-Core Photonic Crystal Fiber Mode Converter

• Main Authors: Yingying Yu, Bo Sun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-02-01
• Series: Crystals
• Subjects: mode converter; photonic crystal fiber; coupler; magnetic fluid; dual core fiber
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/8/2/95

We propose a tunable magnetic fluid-filled hybrid photonic crystal fiber mode converter. Innovative design principles based on the hybrid connected dual-core photonic crystal fiber and magnetically modulated optical properties of magnetic fluid are developed and numerically verified. The mode converter was designed to convert LP11 in the index-guiding core to the LP01 mode in the photonic bandgap-guiding core. By introducing the magnetic fluid into the air-hole located at the center of the photonic bandgap-guiding core, the mode converter can realize a high coupling efficiency and an ultra-wide bandwidth. The coupling efficiency can reach up to 99.9%. At a fixed fiber length, by adjusting the strength of the magnetic field, the coupling efficiency can reach up to 90% and 95% at wavelengths in the ranges of 1.33 µm–1.85 µm and 1.38 µm–1.75 µm, with bandwidth values reaching 0.52 µm and 0.37 µm, respectively. Moreover, it has a good manufacturing flexibility. The mode converter can be used to implement wideband mode-division multiplexing of few-mode optical fiber for high-capacity telecommunications.