Open AccessColloidal photonic crystal cladded optical fibers: Towards a new type of photonic band gap fiber
Author(s) -
Jianzhao Li,
Peter R. Heman,
Christopher E. Valdivia,
Vladimir Kitaev,
Geoffrey A. Ozin
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/opex.13.006454
Subject(s) - photonic crystal , materials science , yablonovite , photonic crystal fiber , optics , microstructured optical fiber , photonics , optoelectronics , optical fiber , colloidal crystal , scanning electron microscope , photonic integrated circuit , fiber , plastic optical fiber , fiber optic sensor , wavelength , colloid , composite material , physics , chemistry
A facile approach of fabricating a new type of hollow photonic band gap fibers is proposed. Templates for generating such fibers are demonstrated by a complete and uniform coating of a standard silica optical fiber (125 mum diameter) with a three-dimensional colloidal photonic crystal through isothermal heating evaporation induced self-assembly. The photonic crystal cylindrical annulus is characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopy, and is found to yield a 1.4-mum stop band by optical reflection and transmission spectroscopy. The results also demonstrate a practical means of enveloping macro- or micro-curved surfaces with three-dimensional photonic crystals, a task that is geometrically challenging by other photonic crystal fabrication methods.