Thermo-Optic Switching Effect Based on Fluid-Filled Photonic Crystal Fiber

• Published in: IEEE photonics technology letters Vol. 22; no. 3; pp. 164 - 166
• Main Authors: Yiping Wang, Bartelt, H., Ecke, W., Moerl, K., Lehmann, H., Schroeder, K., Willsch, R., Kobelke, J., Rothhardt, M., Spittel, R., Liye Shan, Brueckner, S., Wei Jin, Xiaoling Tan, Long Jin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01-02-2010; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Absorption; Attenuators; Communication switching; Conferences; Fiber optics; Fluid dynamics; Fluid flow; Fluids; Microstructure; Optical fiber communication; Optical fiber devices; Optical fibers; Optical switches; Photonic crystal fibers; photonic crystal fibers (PCFs); Photonic crystals; Polymers; Propagation losses; Switches; Switching
• ISSN: 1041-1135; 1941-0174
• DOI: 10.1109/LPT.2009.2037242

We report a thermo-optic switching effect with a high extinction ratio of 30 dB by means of filling a fluid into air holes of a solid-core photonic crystal fiber (PCF). Such an effect can perform a turn on-off operation of the transmitted light via a small temperature adjustment of ±10°C. The switching function attributes to the absorption of the filled fluid in combination with the interaction between the core mode and the excited ¿fluid rod¿ modes, resulting from the thermo-optic effect of the filled fluid.