Chiral Dual-Core Photonic Crystal Fiber for an Efficient Circular Polarization Beam Splitter

• Published in: Photonics Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 45
• Main Authors: Li, She, Li, Yibing, Lv, Hongwei, Ji, Changtong, Gao, Hongze, Sun, Qian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.01.2023
• Subjects: Asymmetry; chiral photonic crystal fiber; Chirality; Circuits; Circular polarization; circular polarization beam splitter; Communications systems; Coupling; Crystal fibers; Fiber lasers; Fiber optics; fiber-optical element; Lasers; Light; Linear polarization; Multiplexer demultiplexers; Optical communication; Photonic crystals; Plane waves; Polarization; Polymethyl methacrylate; Quantum dots; Wave plates; Wavelength
• ISSN: 2304-6732; 2304-6732
• DOI: 10.3390/photonics10010045

As a function of a circular polarization beam splitter (CPBS), combining a linear polarization beam splitter with a quarter-wave plate results in a polarization error in a circular polarization fiber-optic circuit. To relieve the error, chiral dual-core photonic crystal fiber (DC-PCF) is investigated as a kind of an efficient circular polarization beam splitter by using the chiral plane-wave expansion (PWE) method. On the basis of the competitive effect in polarization and coupling length between the circular asymmetry of the structure and the chirality of the medium, the effects of the structure and the chirality are analyzed. The numerical results demonstrate that a CPBS needs the weak circular asymmetry in its structure and a relatively stronger chirality of the medium. Then, a kind of CPBS based on chiral DC-PCF is designed with weaker chirality, with a central wavelength of 1.55 μm. The simulation shows the superior performance of having a shorter coupling length and a higher extinction ratio. Furthermore, the dual-wavelength of 1.55 μm and 1.30 μm with left-circular polarization can further be separated by the corresponding chiral DC-PCF. The results show promising applications for the circular polarized multiplexer/demultiplexer in fiber laser communication systems.