Abstract
Compact polarization control elements based on index-guiding soft-glass
photonic crystal fibers infiltrated with nematic liquid crystals are
proposed and thoroughly studied. The nematic director profiles at the
fiber's cross section are consistently calculated by solving the coupled
electrostatic and elastic problem, in the context of an analysis on the
tunability of liquid-crystal-infiltrated photonic crystal fibers. The
fiber's dispersive properties and light propagation in the proposed
polarization controller are studied by means of a fully anisotropic
finite-element-based beam propagation method. The electrically induced
evolution of the state of polarization is mapped on the Poincaré
sphere. Efficient polarization conversion is demonstrated, with a crosstalk
of -50 dB, for a total device
length of 4.65 mm and a maximum applied voltage of 150 V. Crosstalk values
lower than -20 dB are achieved over a 30 nm window. The
proposed devices are envisaged as compact all-in-fiber dynamic polarization
controllers.
© 2011 IEEE
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