Partha Roy Chaudhuri

Near-elliptic core polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber: modeling birefringence characteristics and realization

We investigate the modal birefringence behavior of a near-elliptic core index-guiding photonic crystal fiber (PCF) by using the first-order perturbation correction technique of mode analysis combined with semivectorial mode-field convergence method. The algorithm requires simple formulation, yields reasonably accurate results, and is efficient as needed for a design analysis; it is also applicable to any index-guiding regular structure/PCFs. The efficacy of our design tool has been verified with otherwise known solutions. Using this as a design recipe, we have realized PCFs with high birefringence characteristics.

Determining Properties of Fabricated Index-Guiding Photonic Crystal Fibers Using SEM Micrograph and Mode Convergence Algorithm

We develop a method for modeling properties of fabricated (realistic) air-silica photonic crystal fibers (PCFs). Our approach involves extracting the transverse refractive index (RI) profile of the drawn PCF from its scanning electron micrograph on which is operated a precise and fast mode-analysis recipe based on a finite difference (FD) field convergence scheme. From the digitized scaled RI distribution, we evaluate propagation characteristics of guided modes of PCFs, examining modal shapes, birefringence, dispersion, and other relevant properties. Naturally, our true-structure study of PCFs using FD algorithm exhibits results that are more close to measured data, establishing its practicality as compared with idealized-structure modeling. To demonstrate the efficacy of our method, we investigate some application-specific experimentally drawn PCFs, well known for their study in the literature. The key results that fairly predict experimental measurements are presented. Besides modeling fabricated fibers, this analysis will be very useful to realize PCFs with targeted specifications using feedback of estimation and characterization of trial fabrications.

A New Design for All-Normal Near Zero Dispersion Photonic Crystal Fiber with Selective Liquid Infiltration for Broadband Supercontinuum Generation at 1.55 μm

A new design of all-normal and near zero flattened dispersion based on all-silica photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) using selectively liquid infiltration technique has been proposed to realize smooth broadband supercontinuum generation (SCG). The investigation gives the details of the effect of different geometrical parameters along with the infiltrating liquids on the dispersion characteristics of the fiber. Numerical investigations establish a dispersion value of −0.48 ps/nm/km around the wavelength of 1.55 μm. The optimized design has been found to be suitable for SCG around the C band of wavelength with flat broadband wavelength band (375 nm bandwidth) and smooth spectrum with only a meter long of the PCF. The proposed structure also demonstrates good tunable properties that can help correct possible fabrication mismatch towards a better optimization design for various optical communication systems.

SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CHEMICALLY GROWN ULTRALONG HEXAGONAL ZnO NANOTUBES

Ultralong zinc oxide nanotubes have been synthesized on glass substrate by a simple chemical bath deposition. The nanotubes are hexagonal with the core diameter about ~200 nm. The length of the nanotubes was about 10 μm. No specific alignment of the nanotubes on the glass substrate was observed. The morphology of the nanostructures depends highly on the concentration of zinc acetate solution, duration of mechanical stirring, and temperature during synthesis. Depending upon these experimental conditions nanorods and nanotubes were observed. The material was structurally characterized using grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, showing hexagonal unit cell structure. Transmission electron microscopy results revealed that the walls of the nanotubes are hexagonal. Room temperature photoluminescence spectrum shows a strong violet emission at ~420 nm from the ZnO nanotubes due to transition between zinc interstitial and zinc vacancy level. These results will be very useful in optoelectronic and nanophotonic device applications.

Modeling the tapering effects of fabricated photonic crystal fibers and tailoring birefringence, dispersion, and supercontinuum generation properties

The effects of tapering fabricated air-silica photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) by tailoring the key modal and nonlinear properties of PCFs have been studied by analyzing the tapered structure using a finite difference mode calculation algorithm. The process of tapering is simulated through repeatedly redefining the geometry of the fiber cross section in a progressively tapered dimension preserving the shape. We tested the performance of the analysis by evaluating the modal characteristics, namely, the mode-effective area, birefringence, dispersion, nonlinearity, and supercontinuum properties of some well-known PCF examples under successive tapered conditions. Tapering, as an additional parameter, is seen to improve birefringence of a typical high-birefringence PCF by 1 order of magnitude. The analysis also estimates the extent of tapering that is required to achieve a target amount of evanescent field that has potential applications in an evanescent field sensor. Our investigation with tapered PCF structures includes tailoring dispersion properties and increasing nonlinearity, which leads to broader and lower threshold supercontinuum generation. The analysis should, therefore, be useful as a ready technique for taper analysis of any arbitrary structure PCF and also in PCF-preform (stacking structure) analysis, which can provide preestimates of properties in a targeted dimension of the final PCF before drawing.

Designing a two-octave spanning flat-top supercontinuum source by control of nonlinear dynamics through multi-order dispersion engineering in binary multi-clad microstructured fiber

A flat-top, coherent supercontinuum generation (SCG) spanning ∼1540  nm from the near-infrared to short-wave infrared (NIR–SWIR) band in a host lead–silicate-based binary multi-clad microstructure fiber (BMMF) is analyzed and reported. This ultra wide band (903–2443 nm) SCG with flatness <5  dB is theoretically achieved with a combination of a low input pump power source (peak power=25  kW, pulse width=75  fs) and a short fiber length (∼8  cm) by controlling the nonlinear dynamics of propagating ultrashort pulses accurately through multi-order dispersion engineering. Simulations reveal that by appropriately controlling the fourth-order dispersion coefficient, a great enhancement in the spectral flatness can be achieved when the device is operated close to the maximum dispersion wavelength in the all-normal dispersion regime.

Circular Photonic Crystal Fibers: Numerical Analysis of Chromatic Dispersion and Losses

Detailed numerical analysis for dispersion properties and losses has been carried out for a new type of Photonic crystal fiber where the air-holes are arranged in a circular pattern with a silica matrix called as Circular Photonic Crystal Fiber (C-PCF). The dependence of different PCF geometrical parameters namely different circular spacings, air-hole diameter and numbers of air-hole rings are carried out in detail towards practical applications. Our numerical analysis establishes that total dispersion is strongly affected by the interplay between material dispersion and waveguide dispersion. For smaller air-filing fraction, adding extra air-hole rings does not change dispersion much whereas for higher air-filling fraction, the dispersion nature changes significantly. With proper adjustment of the parameters ultra-flattened dispersion could be achieved; though the application can be limited by higher losses. However, the ultra-flat dispersion fibers can be used for practical high power applications like supercontinuum generation (SCG) by reducing the loss at the pumping wavelength by increasing the no of air-hole rings. Broadband smooth SCG can also be achieved with low loss oscillating near-zero dispersion fiber with higher no of air-hole rings. The detail study shows that for realistic dispersion engineering we need to be careful for both loss and dispersion.

Gain and bandwidth investigation in a near-zero ultra-flat dispersion PCF for optical parametric amplification around the communication wavelength

In this work, we explore the fiber optical parametric amplifiers (FOPAs) gain and bandwidth spectra of near-zero ultra-flattened photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) around the communication wavelength. The parametric gain and spectral bandwidth have been explored for all the three zero-dispersion wavelengths (ZDWs) of the near-zero ultra-flat fiber. Our numerical analysis establishes a dispersion profile with D=0±0.35  ps/nm/km for a bandwidth of 440 nm around the communication wavelength to fully exploit the four-wave mixing effect with three ZDWs for broadband applications. It has been observed that the broader gain spectrum of FOPAs can be achieved with the near-zero and ultra-flattened dispersion curve with proper tuning of the pumping condition. A broader bandwidth with sufficient peak gain value has been achieved with small negative anomalous dispersion (β2≤0) and positive value of fourth-order dispersion parameter (+ve  β4) around the pumping wavelength. Wider bandwidth of the parametric amplifier has been observed around the second ZDW with a negative slope of the dispersion curve. A total bandwidth ≈520  nm could be achieved with the ultra-flat dispersion nature of the optimized PCF. The design methodology of achieving wider gain by tuning the pumping wavelength for favorable higher-order dispersion parameters would be very useful for future dispersion engineered devices.

Growth of silicon quantum dots by oxidation of the silicon nanocrystals embedded within silicon carbide matrix

A moderately low temperature (≤800 °C) thermal processing technique has been described for the growth of the silicon quantum dots (Si-QD) within microcrystalline silicon carbide (μc-SiC:H) dielectric thin films deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) process. The nanocrystalline silicon grains (nc-Si) present in the as deposited films were initially enhanced by aluminium induced crystallization (AIC) method in vacuum at a temperature of Tv = 525 °C. The samples were then stepwise annealed at different temperatures Ta in air ambient. Analysis of the films by FTIR and XPS reveal a rearrangement of the μc-SiC:H network has taken place with a significant surface oxidation of the nc-Si domains upon annealing in air. The nc-Si grain size (DXRD) as calculated from the XRD peak widths using Scherrer formula was found to decrease from 7 nm to 4 nm with increase in Ta from 250 °C to 800 °C. A core shell like structure with the nc-Si as the core and the surface oxide layer as the shell can cl...

Near-elliptic Core Triangular-lattice and Square-lattice PCFs: A Comparison of Birefringence, Cut-off and GVD Characteristics Towards Fiber Device Application

In this work, we report detailed numerical analysis of the near-elliptic core index-guiding triangular-lattice and square-lattice photonic crystal fiber (PCFs); where we numerically characterize the birefringence, single mode, cut-off behavior and group velocity dispersion and effective area properties. By varying geometry and examining the modal field profile we find that for the same relative values of