Abstract
We demonstrate a novel, compact and low-loss photonic crystal fiber modal Mach-Zehnder interferometer with potential applications to sensing and WDM telecommunications. By selectively collapsing a ~1-mm-long section of a hole next to the solid core, a pair of modes of the post-processed structure are excited and interfere at its exit. A modulation depth of up to ~13 dB and an insertion loss as low as 2.8 dB were achieved. A temperature sensitivity of -53.4 pm/°C was measured, making the device suitable for temperature sensing.
Highlights
Since their first demonstration, photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) have made possible the development of new optical devices for a wide range of areas, such as sensing, metrology and optical communications [1]
We demonstrate a novel, compact and low-loss photonic crystal fiber modal Mach-Zehnder interferometer with potential applications to sensing and WDM telecommunications
Applications to sensing and WDM communications are envisaged
Summary
Photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) have made possible the development of new optical devices for a wide range of areas, such as sensing, metrology and optical communications [1]. PCF-based modal interferometers have been actively studied and proposed for a wide range applications such as signal demodulation in optical communications [10] and strain [5,6,7,8,11,12,13,14], temperature [14,15], refractive index [13,16], pressure [13] and chemical [17] sensing This type of interferometer has long been investigated in conventional fibers [18], with PCFs offering the advantage of a greater control over the characteristics of the excited modes and improved sensitivity to measurands, in the case of sensor applications. Received 3 Jan 2011; revised 29 Jan 2011; accepted 29 Jan 2011; published 2 Feb 2011 14 February 2011 / Vol 19, No 4 / OPTICS EXPRESS 3125
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
