PIERS ONLINE, VOL. 3, NO.

6, 2007 836

Numerical Simulation and Analysis on Mode Property of

Photonic Crystal Fiber with High Birefringence by Fast Multipole
Method
Wei Song, Yuanyuan Zhao, Yu Bao, Shuguang Li, Zhiyuan Zhang, and Tianfu Xu
Physics Department, College of Science, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, China

Abstract In this paper the mode property of a photonic crystal fiber with triangle-lattice
array in a silica matrix has been simulated by fast multipole method. The PCFs studied in this
paper have a silica core, obtained by introducing a defect, that is by removing three holes in the
center of the fiber transverse section. The model fields, effective index and confinement loss about
the fundamental mode in the fibre are analysed and compared. It is demonstrated that lower
confinement loss and higher birefringence can be realized in the condition of fewer rings of air
holes. At the wavelength of 1.55 m the confinement loss is 7.3106 dB/m and the birefringence
is 1.65 103 in this fiber. The simulation results show that birefringence of this triangle-lattice
PCF is dominated by inner-ring air holes in the fibre effectively. The simulation results in this
paper have important meaning for instructing the fabrication of birefringent photonic crystal
fiber.
DOI: 10.2529/PIERS060910211527

1. INTRODUCTION
In recent year, great interest has been focused on the study of photonic crystal fiber (PCF). By
using the structure adjustability of the PCF, zero dispersive wavelength moving towards short-
wave spectroscopy, chromatic dispersion compensating, dispersion truncating, high nonlinearity
and birefringence can be realized [115]. The mode birefringence of PCF mainly comes from the
geometer structure of fiber and the usual method to cause birefringence is employing double-core
or multi-core structure, changing the fiber core or the shape of the air holes and altering the distri-
bution of the air holes. High birefringence PCF can be used in optical fiber sensor, interferometer
and polarizer, etc. In addition, by designing the high birefringence and intensive nonlineality PCF
required, we can make a fiber not only high birefringence, but also intensive nonlineality. We can
also make the large mode property polarization maintaining PCF [15]. This can make the prop-
erty of PCF integrate, so it can be used in the Raman magnification, ex-continous spectum of the
polarization, four-wave frequency mixing and the crossing phase modulation. The development of
the birefringence PCF will promote the study and appliance of the new photoelectric device. In
the progress of making the PCF fiber, we find that maintaining the ideal structure of the fiber and
the number of air holes layers of the PCF cladding is a contradiction [2, 4, 17]. Generally speaking,
the more layers the PCF cladding have, the smaller the confinement loss will be, but at the same
time increasing the layers will make the distortion of the air holes a big problem when the fibers are
produced. On the fundament of the traditional triangular arrayed air holes, this article proposes
a birefringence structure PCF which has C2v symmetry. And by using the fast multipole method,
its modal property is numerically simulated. It is found that in this PCF, there will be several
conductive modes, and its fundamental mode has very low confinement loss and high birefringence.
2. BASIC THEORY
The ordinary solution about multipole theory at the complex boundary electrostatic field has been
deduced and developed by Zheng Qinhong. Nie Zaiping [22] analyzed the three dimensional vector
scattering of complicated object by using the fast multipole method. These examples show that the
multipole method is an effective way to analyze electromagnetic field theory. Using the multipole
method to simulate the dispersion and the loss property of microstructured fiber is originally
proposed by T. P. White and B. T. Kuhlmey [2325] in Sydney University. Zhao Mingzhu [26] also
simulated the PCF by using multipole method.
This method is adopted when the air holes of microstructured fiber is cylindrical. By using this
method, we can get real part and imaginary part of the effective refractive index of the fiber and
 PIERS ONLINE, VOL. 3, NO. 6, 2007 837

the mode propagation constant. And then by using the real part, we can analyze the dispersion,
or using the imaginary part to analyze the confinement loss of limited cladding air holes. We can
also use this method to get its propagation constant corresponding to the input wavelength (or
frequency). Accordingly, we can consider the material dispersion in the progress of simulation by
using the Sellmeier formula. In this paper, the theory of T. P. White [23, 24] is used for reference
and fast multipole method is much adopted. Using different multipole cutoff order to meet the
varied diameter of air holes and wavelength ratio, we not only guarantee the calculation precision,
but also speed the computation velocity. So fast multipole method is a very efficient way to simulate
the PCF property.
The electromagnetic field in the fiber can be decomposed to two types. One is axis Z along the
fiber: EZ and HZ . The other is sectional part: Et and Ht . In fact, when magnetic field multiple a
parameter, it will have the same Maxwell equation form to electic field, that is K = ZH, where Z
is impedance of free space. Electromagnetic field can be demonstrated as follows:
~ = E(r,
E ~ ) exp[i(z t)] (1)
~ = K(r,
K ~ ) exp[i(z t)] (2)
where is angular frequency, propagation constant b is a plural. The imaginary part of b denotes
the attenuation along the Z-axis.
The longitudinal part of electromagnetic field (V = Ez or V = K) meet the Helmholtz equation
(2 + (k )2 )V = 0 : (3)
k is shown by kl and k e respectively in the air holes and base material. They could be expanded

to cylindrical function. In the lth air hole, its vertical electric field EZ can be expanded in the
cylindrical coordinate:

X i
Ez = a(l)
m Jm k rl exp(iml ) exp(iz) (4)
m=

In the medium next to the lth air hole, the vertical electric field can be shown as follow:

X h i
Ez = b(l) e (l) 1 e
m Jm (k rl ) + cm Hm (k rl ) exp(iml ) exp(iz) (5)
m=

kT = ki = (k 2 n2 2 )1/2 , k e = (k 2 n2 2 )1/2 , the refractive index of air n =1, n is the refractive

0 i 0 e i e
index of quartz material, k0 is the wavevector in free space, rL and jL are the coordinate of regional
coordinate system ~rl (rl , l ) = ~r ~cl , ~cl is the center of the air hole. The expression of magnetic
field part Kz is similar to the electric field. Be careful when compute the squadratic root of the
plural number, as to the mode which is attenuated traveling along the +Z axis, the real part and
imaginary part of the propagation constant must meet this rules: <() > 0, =() > 0.
By using the boundary condition of electromagnetic field on the interface of the air hole, we
(l) (l) (l)
can get the expression of am , bm and cm . In the real computation by choosing the proper cutoff
value corresponding to the air hole diameter of the optical fiber cladding and the wavelength ratio
M , we can optimize speed and precision of the calculation. Further more, taking in the concept of
fast multipole method to programme can increase the computation speed. The effective refractive
index of the mode neff can be obtained by propagation constant b.
Then, the imaginary part of the neff can be used to get the fiber confinement loss (the unit is
dB/m).
20 2
L= =(neff ) 106 (6)
ln(10)
The unit of l is micrometer (mm), the dispersion coefficient can be got from the real part
d2 <(neff )
D= (7)
c d2
The birefringence index B [911] is:
B = nseff nfeff (8)
 PIERS ONLINE, VOL. 3, NO. 6, 2007 838

nseff and nfeff are the two cross polarization of the fundamental mode which is corresponding to the
slow axis and fast axis. The polarization beat length between the two cross polarization is:
LB = /B (9)

(a) (b)

Figure 1: (a) The section of birefringence PCF and (b) minimal sector.

3. SIMULATION AND ANALYSIS

The section of birefringence PCF simulated in this paper is shown in Figure 1. PCF cladding
is composed of regular triangular arrayed air holes. Three holes along the center of X axis are
removed to form the fiber core. The pitch = 2.3 m, air-holes diameter d = 1.6 m. In the most

5 5 5
4 4 4 |Sz|
|Ez| |Hz|
3 3 3 1.0
0.9
2 2 2 0.8
1 1 1 0.7
0.6
Y / m
Y / m
Y / m

0 0 0 0.5
-1 -1 -1 0.4
0.3
-2 -2 -2 0.2
-3 -3 -3 0.1
0.0
-4 -4 -4
-5 -5 -5
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5
X / m X / m X / m
(a) (b) (c)
5 5 5
4 |Ez| 4 |Hz| 4 |Sz|
3 3 3
1.0
2 2 2 0.9
1 1 1 0.8
0.7
Y / m

Y / m
Y / m

0 0 0 0.6
-1 -1 0.5
-1 0.4
-2 -2 -2 0.3
0.2
-3 -3 -3
0.1
-4 -4 -4 0.0
-5 -5 -5
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5
X / m X / m X / m
(d) (e) (f)

Figure 2: The fundamental mode distribution of the birefringence PCF at the wavelength ( = 1.55 m),
where figures (a) and (b) and (c) respectively stand for their slow axis mode field |Ez | and |Hz | and |Sz |, (d)
and (e) and (f) stand for their fast axis mode field |Ez | and |Hz | and |Sz | respectively.
 PIERS ONLINE, VOL. 3, NO. 6, 2007 839

inner layer, there are 6 more bigger air holes, their diameter is d0 = 2.0 m. As far as the structure
of the fiber is concerned, on one hand, because the fiber core can generate birefringence for its
asymmetrical in the X axis and Y axis direction; on the other hand according to the theory of
group, this structure has the Cv2 symmetry. Taking advantage of these symmetries can simplify the
calculation and enhance the precision and speed of computation. The minimal sector is = 0 /2
when simulated.
Figure 2 shows the fundamental mode distribution of normalized mode field of the PCF shown
in Figure 1, where figures (a), (b) and (c) respectively stand for their slow axis mode field |Ez | and
|Hz | and |Sz |, (d), (e) and (f) stand for their fast axis mode field distribution |Ez | and |Hz | and
|Sz | respectively. From these pictures, it can be seen that every modes |Ez |, |Hz |, |Sz | distribution
has the C2v symmetry. The |Sz | of the fundamental mode has a peek center. The modal field of
the fundamental mode distribution shows that |Ez | of slow axis and |Hz | of fast axis have similar
mode field distribution and the |Hz | of the slow axis and |Ez | of fast axis have the similar mode
field distribution too. The Z part of Poynting vector of the slow axis and fast axis has similar
distribution of |Sz |.
Figure 3 gives the effective refractive index and Fundamental Space Mode [5, 6] (FSM) of the
fundamental mode of PCF. In the figure, curve1 and 2 represent effective refractive index of slow
axis and fast axis of fundamental mode. FSM represents the effective refractive index of cladding
fundamental space mode. It can be seen from this figure that the effective refractive index of the
fundamental mode of slow axis is bigger than the fast axis.

1.48 0.1
1.46
1.44 0.01
Confinement loss L / dB.m-1
1
1.42 2
1E-3
1.40
Effective index neff

1.38 1E-4
1.36
1.34 1E-5
1.32
1.30 1E-6
1
1.28 2 1E-7
1.26 FSM
1.24 1E-8
1.22
1E-9
0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2.0 2.4 2.8 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2.0 2.4 2.8
Wavelength /m Wavelength /m

Figure 3: The effective index of PCF of fundamental Figure 4: The confinement loss of PCF fundamental
and cladding mode changing corresponding to the mode corresponding to wavelength.
wavelength.

Figure 4 shows the changing rule of the confinement loss L corresponding to the wavelength of
the PCF fundamental mode. In the figure, curve1 and 2 represent the confinement loss of the slow
axis and fast axis. It can be seen in this figure that in the low loss window where=1.55 m of optical
communication, the slow axis mode and the fast axis mode are 7.3 106 and 7.2 106 dB/m.
This loss is very small. The confinement loss of fundamental mode at 1.55 m is far bellow the
traditional loss 0.2 dB/km in optical communication. We can also see that the fibers fundamental
mode of short infrared and middle infrared band (0.8 m3.0 m) we simulate have confinement
loss bellow 0.06 dB/m. If there is another layer of air hole, its loss can be lower. So this design of
structure is certainly a type of PCF with low confinement loss.
Figure 5(a) shows the rule of fundamental mode birefringence B and beat length LB of PCF as
functions of wavelength. Figure 5(b) gives the dispersion coefficient D of slow axis and fast axis
as functions of wavelength. At 1.55 m, birefringence of fundamental mode is B = 1.65 103 .
This belongs to high birefringence fiber. Between infrared band, the birefringence is increased
with the increasing of wavelength. Correspondingly, the beat length decreases with the increase of
wavelength. It can be seen from the Figure 5(a) that the dispersion coefficient of fast axis module
and slow axis corresponding to the fundamental mode has difference. The zero dispersion coefficient
of fast axis and slow axis are 0.95 m and 0.975 m. So there is modal dispersion between fast axis
and slow axis.
 PIERS ONLINE, VOL. 3, NO. 6, 2007 840

0.007 0.003
100
0.006 80

Dispersion D / ps.nm -1.km-1

slow axis

Beat length LB / m
0.005 60
0.002 fast axis
Birefringence B

40
0.004 15
20 10
5
0.003 0 0
0.001 -5
0.002 -20
-10
-40 -15
0.001 -20
0.92 0.94 0.96 0.98 1.00
-60
0.000 0.000
-80
0.8 1.2 1.6 2.0 2.4 2.8 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8
Wavelength /m Wavelength /m
(a) (b)

Figure 5: (a) the fundamental mode birefringence B and beat length LB of PCF as functions of wavelength.
(b) the dispersion coefficient D of slow axis and fast axis as function of wavelength.

4. CONCLUSION
Based on traditional structure of triangular arrayed air holes, this paper promotes a type of birefrin-
gence PCF which has C2v symmetry property. By using the fast multipole method, the fundamental
mode distribution, effective refractive index and the confinement loss of this birefringence PCF are
simulated. It is found that the structure of PCF only with several layers of the cladding air-holes can
realize very low confinement loss. The result has instructive significance for the manufacture of the
birefringence PCF. It can promote the progress of the manufacture of infrared band photoelectric
device appliance by using PCF.
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