Dispersion properties of transverse anisotropic liquid crystal core photonic crystal fibers

Abstract

The dispersion properties of liquid crystal core photonic crystal fibers for different core diameters have been calculated by a full vectorial finite difference method. In calculations, air holes are assumed to be arranged in a regular hexagonal array in fused silica and a central hole is filled with liquid crystal to create a core. In this study, three types of transverse anisotropic configurations, where liquid crystal molecules are oriented in a transverse plane, and a planar configuration, where liquid crystal molecules are oriented in a propagation direction, are considered. The large changes of the dispersion properties are found when the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules is changed from a planar configuration to a uniform configuration, where all molecules are oriented in the same direction in a transverse plane. Since the orientation of liquid crystal molecules may be controlled by applying an electric field, it could be utilized for various applications including the spectral control of supercontinuum generation.