Approximate equivalence between guided modes in a low-contrast photonic bandgap fiber and Maxwell TM modes of a high-contrast two-dimensional photonic structure

TL;DR

This paper establishes a formal analogy between guided modes in low-contrast photonic fibers and TM modes in high-contrast 2D structures, enabling analysis of confinement losses and potential loss reduction through Anderson localization.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analogy between different photonic systems and uses it to study confinement losses and disorder effects in microstructured fibers.

Findings

Confinement losses increase with disorder in fibers.

Losses may be reduced by exploiting Anderson localization.

Numerical analysis supports the analogy and findings.

Abstract

We present a formal analogy between the eigenvalue problem for guided scalar modes in a low-contrast photonic bandgap fiber and quasi-stationary TM modes of a two-dimensional (2D) photonic structure. Using this analogy, we numerically study the confinement losses of disordered microstructured fibers through the leakage rate of an open 2D system with high refractive index inclusions. Our results show that for large values of the disorder, the confinement losses increase. However, they also suggest that losses might be improved in strongly disordered fibers by exploring ranges of physical parameters where Anderson localization sets in.