Analytical assessment of the total loss in tubular hollow-core fibers during their fabrication process

TL;DR

This paper presents an analytical method to predict total optical loss in tubular hollow-core fibers during fabrication, helping optimize conditions to achieve ultralow-loss fibers before experimental trials.

Contribution

It introduces an analytical framework to estimate and minimize losses in HCPCFs based on microstructure variations during fabrication, advancing predictive capabilities.

Findings

Estimated loss levels based on geometrical variations

Identified conditions for minimizing fiber loss

Provided insights for optimizing fabrication parameters

Abstract

Hollow-core photonic crystal fibers (HCPCFs) have become a key enabling technology for addressing a broad spectrum of fundamental and applied needs. Indeed, recent advancements achieved by the HCPCF research community have led to significant progress, establishing these fibers as the lowest-loss optical fibers currently available for use in the visible and ultraviolet ranges. However, the fabrication process of HCPCFs demands costly infrastructure, and achieving ultralow-loss fibers remains a complex technical challenge as numerous fabrication attempts are typically required to optimize their performances. Therefore, predicting these fibers' performances before experimental fabrication is highly desirable. In this work, we tackle this task by analytically assessing the total loss in tubular-lattice HCPCFs during their fabrication process. By considering the variation in the microstructure's geometrical parameters during fabrication and the different sources of loss, we estimate expected loss levels and identify the conditions for loss minimization. We understand that our research provides valuable insights into the fabrication process of hollow-core fibers, offering a predictive approach to evaluate the fibers' performance before their experimental realization. By determining optimal conditions considering geometry, fabrication constraints, and loss figures, we believe that our work contributes to the ongoing efforts to further reduce the loss levels in HCPCFs.