Conventional telecommunication optical waveguide glass fiber is the backbone of the internet revolution. This highly optimized and highly transparent material consists of a higher index core glass inside a lower index clad glass. Light is localized in the core by total internal reflection at the core/clad boundary. The transmission range between amplifiers of today's fibers, about 70km, is limited in part by the small but nonzero optical nonlinearity of silica. It is also limited in part by the small but nonzero amount of intrinsic scattering.
It has recently been demonstrated, both theoretically[1] and experimentally[2], that photonic band gap confinement can be used to form a new kind of optical waveguide fiber. This photonic band gap fiber (PBGF) guides light in a LOW index core, in contrast to conventional fiber waveguides. This low index core can be air, allowing for dramatic reduction in nonlinearity and scattering.
This presentation describes the fabrication of photonic band gap fibers, their experimental characterization, their predicted properties, and their significance in the context of optical telecommunication.
*Fundamental Research, SP FR 5, Corning Incorporated, Corning, NY 14831 USA. allandc@corning.com
[1] J. Broeng, S. E. Barkou, T. Sondergaard, and A. Bjarklev, "Analysis of air-guiding photonic bandgap fibers", Opt. Lett. 25, 96-98 (2000).
[2] R. F. Cregan, B. J. Mangan, J. C. Knight, T. A. Birks, P. St. J. Russell, P. J. Roberts, and D. C. Allan, "Single-Mode Photonic Band Gap Guidance of Light in Air", Science 285, 1537-1539 (1999).