Refractometry based on a photonic crystal fiber interferometer

We report a simple and compact modal interferometer for applications in refractometry. The device consists of a stub of large-mode-area photonic crystal fiber (PCF) spliced between standard single-mode fibers. In the splice regions the voids of the PCF are fully collapsed, thus allowing the coupling and recombination of PCF core and cladding modes. The device is highly stable over time, has low temperature sensitivity, and is Suitable for measuring indices in the 1.330-1.440 range. The measure of the refractive index is carried out by monitoring the shift of the interference pattern. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America