Nearly zero ultraflattened dispersion in photonic crystal fibers

We present a procedure for achieving photonic crystal fibers with nearly zero ultraflattened group-velocity dispersion. Systematic knowledge of the special guiding properties of these fibers permits the achievement of qualitatively novel dispersion curves. Unlike the behavior of conventional fibers, this new type of dispersion behavior permits remarkably improved suppression of third-order dispersion, particularly in the low-dispersion domain. (C) 2000 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 060.2270, 060.2280, 060.2430.