Pressure-assisted low-loss fusion splicing between photonic crystal fiber and single-mode fiber

Tao Zhu; Fufeng Xiao; Laicai Xu; Min Liu; Ming Deng; Kin Seng Chiang

doi:10.1364/OE.20.024465

Pressure-assisted low-loss fusion splicing between photonic crystal fiber and single-mode fiber

Opt Express. 2012 Oct 22;20(22):24465-71. doi: 10.1364/OE.20.024465.

Authors

Tao Zhu¹, Fufeng Xiao, Laicai Xu, Min Liu, Ming Deng, Kin Seng Chiang

Affiliation

¹ Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology & Systems, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China.

PMID: 23187209
DOI: 10.1364/OE.20.024465

Abstract

We demonstrate low-loss splicing between a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) and a single-mode fiber (SMF) with a conventional electric-arc fusion splicer, where nitrogen gas (N₂) with a proper pressure is pumped into the air holes of the PCF to control the air-hole collapse ratio so as to optimize the mode-field match at the joint. The method is applicable to both solid-core and hollow-core PCFs. With this method, we achieve a splice loss (measured at 1550 nm) of ~0.40 dB for a solid-core PCF and ~1.05 dB for a hollow-core PCF. The method could find wide applications in the fabrication of PCF-based devices.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't