Holey Fibers

Suchita Kaundin

Agenda

Background
What are Holey Fibers
Physical Structure
Fabrication
Properties
Advantages
Applications
Industries
References

Background

Initially, the photonic bandgap was the only guiding

mechanism in the new class of optical fibers
By micro structuring and including airholes in the fiber
and using total internal reflection property, these
devices could provide revolutionary features

What are Holey Fibers

Holey Fibers are microstructured optic fibers that

possess a solid core surrounded by a cladding region
defined by a fine array of air holes that extend along
the fiber length
Holey fibers guide light due to effective refractive
index difference between core and cladding regions
and can be made from a single material typically
silica

Physical Structure

Holey fibers are created by stacking tiny hollow glass

tubes around a small solid glass rod forming a
cylinder 3cm across and a meter long
Each hole can be less than a micron in diameter
The positioning and size of the hole affect the way
light is being transmitted
By introducing holes which are of a similar size to the
wavelength of light, light of different wavelengths can
be passed.

Fabrication

Fabricated by stacking an array of capillaries in a

hexagonal configuration around a solid rod which
forms the core
The resulting preform is reduced to fibre dimensions
using a conventional fibre drawing tower
A range of fiber profiles can be produced from a single
preform by controlling the conditions under which the
fiber is drawn
For large scale reduction factors for certain
applications the microstructured region may be
overclad with a solid jacket

Properties

Endless single mode guidance

Large mode area
Non linearity tailoring
Dispersion

Advantages

Endlessly single mode operation- Short wavelength

applications
Large mode area up to hundreds of m2- Makes
fabrication process faster
Anomalous and zero dispersion below 1.3 m (at
visible)- Makes generation of optical solitons in the
near IR and visible regions.

Applications

Applications in electronic equipments, multiplexers,

computers, video devices, Vehicle control systems
where high speed optical data transfer is essential
Can enable powerful laser surgery and effective laser
machining
Optical switches and sensor applications
Pollution sensing: Putting the fiber into a liquid or
driving gas through it and then seeing how light shone
through the fiber is affected could give fast and
accurate information about pollutant characteristics

Industries

Corning Inc.
BlazePhotonics design
Crystal Fiber
INO
Omniguide Communications

References

Holey Fibers : Properties,Applications & Future Directions

by Optoelectronics Research Centre,University of
Southampton
http://fibers.org/articles/news/5/4/1/1
http://www.opticallynetworked.com/features/article.php/7240
61
http://www.ecpe.vt.edu/news/ar03/holeyfib.html
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=21449

THANK YOU