Open AccessPressure-assisted low-loss fusion splicing between photonic crystal fiber and single-mode fiber
Author(s) -
Tao Zhu,
Fufeng Xiao,
Lai-Cai Xu,
Min Liu,
Ming Deng,
Kin Seng Chiang
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.20.024465
Subject(s) - fusion splicing , photonic crystal fiber , materials science , optics , single mode optical fiber , fiber , core (optical fiber) , optical fiber , mode field diameter , plastic optical fiber , optoelectronics , fiber optic sensor , composite material , physics
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 (N 2 ) 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.