Photonic crystal waveguides and systems using such waveguides
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a photonic crystal fiber configured to guide a mode of electromagnetic radiation at a wavelength, λ
, along a waveguide axis, the fiber comprising a core extending along the waveguide axis, and a confinement region extending along the waveguide axis and surrounding the core, the confinement region being configured to guide the mode of electromagnetic radiation at wavelength, λ
, along the waveguide axis and being an all-dielectric confinement region comprising alternating layers of a first and a second dielectric material having thicknesses d1 and d2 and different refractive indices n1 and n2, respectively,wherein the thickness of at least one of the alternating layers of the first material differs from thickness d1QW or at least one of the alternating layers of the second material differs from thickness d2QW, where d1QW and d2QW correspond to a quarter-wave condition for the two dielectric materials given by d1QW=λ
/(4√
{square root over (n12−
1)}) and d2QW=λ
/(4√
{square root over (n22−
1)}), respectively, andwherein the photonic crystal fiber has an attenuation for the guided mode at the wavelength λ
that is reduced by a factor of about two or more relative to an attenuation for a reference fiber that is identical to the photonic crystal fiber except that the reference fiber has alternating layer thicknesses corresponding to the quarter-wave condition.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In general, in one aspect, the invention features an apparatus that includes a photonic crystal fiber configured to guide a mode of electromagnetic radiation at a wavelength, λ, along a waveguide axis. The fiber includes a core extending along the waveguide axis, and a confinement region extending along the waveguide axis and surrounding the core. The confinement region includes alternating layers of a first and a second dielectric material having thicknesses d1 and d2 and different refractive indices n1 and n2, respectively. The thickness of at least one of the alternating layers of the first material differs from thickness d1QW or at least one of the alternating layers of the second material differs from thickness d2QW, where d1QW and d2QW correspond to a quarter-wave condition for the two dielectric materials given by d1QW=λ/(4√{square root over (n12−1)}) and d2QW=λ/(4√{square root over (n22−1)}), respectively. The photonic crystal fiber has an attenuation for the guided mode at the wavelength λ that is reduced by a factor of about two or more relative to an attenuation for a reference fiber that is identical to the photonic crystal fiber except that the reference fiber has alternating layer thicknesses corresponding to the quarter-wave condition.
77 Citations
48 Claims
-
1. An apparatus comprising:
-
a photonic crystal fiber configured to guide a mode of electromagnetic radiation at a wavelength, λ
, along a waveguide axis, the fiber comprising a core extending along the waveguide axis, and a confinement region extending along the waveguide axis and surrounding the core, the confinement region being configured to guide the mode of electromagnetic radiation at wavelength, λ
, along the waveguide axis and being an all-dielectric confinement region comprising alternating layers of a first and a second dielectric material having thicknesses d1 and d2 and different refractive indices n1 and n2, respectively,wherein the thickness of at least one of the alternating layers of the first material differs from thickness d1QW or at least one of the alternating layers of the second material differs from thickness d2QW, where d1QW and d2QW correspond to a quarter-wave condition for the two dielectric materials given by d1QW=λ
/(4√
{square root over (n12−
1)}) and d2QW=λ
/(4√
{square root over (n22−
1)}), respectively, andwherein the photonic crystal fiber has an attenuation for the guided mode at the wavelength λ
that is reduced by a factor of about two or more relative to an attenuation for a reference fiber that is identical to the photonic crystal fiber except that the reference fiber has alternating layer thicknesses corresponding to the quarter-wave condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
-
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48. An apparatus comprising:
-
a photonic crystal fiber configured to guide a mode of electromagnetic radiation at a wavelength, λ
, along a waveguide axis, the fiber comprising a core extending along the waveguide axis, and a confinement region extending along the waveguide axis and surrounding the core, the confinement region comprising alternating layers of a first and a second dielectric material having thickness d1 and d2 and different refractive indices n1 and n2, respectively,wherein the thickness of at least one of the alternating layers of the first material differs from thickness d1QW and at least one of the alternating layers of the second material differs from thickness d2QW, the thickness of at least two of the alternating layers of the first material differs from thickness d1QW, or the thickness of at least two of the alternating layers of the second material differs from thickness d2QW, where d1QW, and d2QW correspond to a quarter-wave condition for the two dielectric materials given by d1QW=λ
/(4√
{square root over (n12−
1)}) and d2QW=λ
/(4√
{square root over (n22−
1)}), respectively, andwherein the photonic crystal fiber has an attenuation for the guided mode at the wavelength λ
that is reduced by a factor of about two or more relative to an attenuation for a reference fiber that is identical to the photonic crystal fiber except that the reference fiber has alternating layer thickness corresponding to the quarter-wave condition.
-
Specification