Abstract

We present the design of a microstructured dual-core optical fiber with integrated electrodes and filled with liquid crystals. The dual-core structure acts as a directional coupler whose properties depend on the liquid crystal alignment. We show that with four electrodes and two separate driving voltages below 30 V on the electrodes, the beam-splitting properties of the fiber can be controlled independently and continuously for the two polarization components, thus allowing for the realization of any arbitrary 2 × 2 transfer function, such as tunable polarizers, polarization-dependent attenuators, or polarization-independent beam splitting.

Ultrashort polarization beam splitter based on liquid-filled dual-core photonic crystal fiber

Jianshuai Wang, Li Pei, Sijun Weng, Liangying Wu, Jing Li, and Tigang Ning
Appl. Opt. 57(14) 3847-3852 (2018)

Design of dual-core optical fibers with NEMS functionality

Nina Podoliak, Zhenggang Lian, Wei H. Loh, and Peter Horak
Opt. Express 22(1) 1065-1076 (2014)

Polarization-dependent coupling in gold-filled dual-core photonic crystal fibers

Peng Li and Jianlin Zhao
Opt. Express 21(5) 5232-5238 (2013)

Dual-band electro-optic polarization switch based on dual-core liquid-crystal photonic crystal fibers

Dimitrios C. Zografopoulos, Alexandros K. Pitilakis, and Emmanouil E. Kriezis
Appl. Opt. 52(26) 6439-6444 (2013)

Compact and tunable broadband polarization splitter based on nematic liquid crystal infiltrated dual-core photonic crystal fiber

Md Mizan, Abdul Khaleque, Md. Sarwar Hosen, Kumary Sumi Rani Shaha, Md. Hasanur Rahman, and A B M Arafat Hossain
Opt. Continuum 2(2) 506-519 (2023)