Design and fabrication of copper-filled photonic crystal fiber based polarization filters

This work demonstrates a broadband polarization filter based on copper-filled photonic crystal fiber (CFPCF). The proposed fiber is fabricated using the conventional stack-and-draw method. The polarization filter properties of the proposed CFPCF are investigated numerically by considering the cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy image of the fabricated CFPCF. It is observed that the magnitude of cross talk reached up to -206  dB over 0.8 mm length with a broad bandwidth of 282 nm at a central wavelength of 1790 nm. In addition, the polarization characteristics of the CFPCF including cross talk, central wavelength, and bandwidth can be adjusted by varying the diameter of the copper wire. It is shown that the resonance wavelength of the proposed filter can be tuned over the wide range of wavelengths from 1390 to 1890 nm. We have shown that by adjusting the copper wire diameter to 0.32Λ and 0.48Λ  μm (Λ is pitch size), the proposed filter can operate at communication bands of 1310 and 1550 nm, respectively. The results suggest high-potential of the proposed fiber for polarization filtering and other sensing applications.