Abstract
Light traversing a hollow-core photonic band-gap fiber may
experience multiple reflections and thereby a slow-down and enhanced optical path length. This offers a technologically interesting way of increasing the optical absorption of an otherwise weakly absorbing material which
can infiltrate the fibre. However, in contrast to structures with a refractive index that varies along the propagation direction, like Bragg stacks, the
translationally invariant structures studied here feature an intrinsic trade-off between light slow-down and filling fraction that limits the net absorption enhancement. We quantify the degree of absorption enhancement that can
be achieved and its dependence on key material parameters. By treating the absorption and index on equal footing, we demonstrate the existence of an absorption-induced saturation of the group index that itself limits the
maximum absorption enhancement that can be achieved.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Optics Express |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 13 |
Pages (from-to) | 14270-14279 |
ISSN | 1094-4087 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2010 |