Open AccessGuiding light in a water core all-solid cladding photonic band gap fiber – an innovative platform for fiber-based optofluidics
Author(s) -
Guangrui Li,
Matthias Zeisberger,
Markus A. Schmidt
Publication year - 2017
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.25.022467
Subject(s) - optofluidics , cladding (metalworking) , materials science , optics , photonics , microstructured optical fiber , photonic crystal fiber , optical fiber , refractive index , core (optical fiber) , graded index fiber , optoelectronics , fiber optic sensor , microfluidics , nanotechnology , physics , metallurgy
We present a single-channel photonic band gap fiber design allowing for guiding light inside a water core, which is surrounded by solid microstructured cladding, consisting of an array of high refractive index strands in silica. We address all relevant properties and show that the microstructure substantially reduces loss. We also introduce a ray reflection model, matching numerical modelling and allowing for time-effective large-scale parameter sweeps. Our single channel fiber concept is particularly valuable for applications demanding fast and reliable injection of liquids into the core, with potential impact in fields such as optofluidics, spectroscopy or bioanalytics.