Infiltrated photonic crystal fiber: experiments and liquid crystal scattering model

Experimental results obtained by means of a cut-back technique indicate low attenuations (< 1 dB x cm(-1)) for a solid core photonic crystal fiber filled with the nematic liquid crystal E7. These results observed in the visible wavelength range are compared with electromagnetic field simulations. The latter are carried out with a full vectorial finite element algorithm. Based on the modal properties under the condition of perpendicular anchoring of the liquid crystal molecules, the wavelength dependent attenuation is estimated using a power loss model considering the turbidity of the nematic liquid crystal. The results indicate that the scattering properties of this type of materials make them extremely interesting for fiber optical filters in the visible wavelength range and that filling materials with a relatively high turbidity are in general potentially useful as filling materials for solid core photonic crystal fibers.