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Fabrication And Characterization Of Photonic Crystal Slow Light Waveguides And Cavities
Published on: November 30, 2012
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Optical activity in twisted solid-core photonic crystal fibers.
X M Xi1, T Weiss1, G K L Wong1
1Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Guenther-Scharowsky Strasse 1, 91058 Erlangen, Germany.
Physical Review Letters
|August 29, 2014
Summary
Continuously twisted photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) unexpectedly exhibit optical activity. This circular birefringence scales linearly with twist rate, offering a reproducible phenomenon in optical fibers.
Area of Science:
- Optics and Photonics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) are engineered materials with unique light-guiding properties.
- Twisting optical fibers can induce birefringence, affecting light polarization.
- Previous studies on twist-induced birefringence in PCFs have not fully explained the observed phenomena.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the origin of optical activity in continuously twisted PCFs.
- To quantify the relationship between twist rate and circular birefringence.
- To develop a theoretical model explaining the observed optical activity.
Main Methods:
- Experimental characterization of light transmission through twisted PCFs in specific spectral regions.
- Theoretical modeling using symmetry properties and perturbation theory.
- Analysis of the role of spin and orbital angular momentum in the core mode.
Main Results:
- Continuously twisted PCFs exhibit significant optical activity in spectral regions free of cladding resonances.
- The circular birefringence increases linearly with the fiber's twist rate.
- The observed effect is highly reproducible.
- A theoretical model confirms the contribution of both spin and orbital angular momentum.
Conclusions:
- The core mode of twisted PCFs displays unexpected optical activity due to inherent orbital angular momentum in its polarized modes.
- This effect is distinct from previous observations of twist-induced birefringence.
- The linear relationship between twist rate and circular birefringence offers potential for novel optical fiber applications.
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