Measurement of the phase refractive index of a photonic crystal fiber mode

We present a new experimental technique for measurement of the refractive index of a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) fundamental mode. We demonstrate that the phase refractive index of the PCF mode can be estimated by analyzing a phase shift of interfering adjacent longitudinal laser modes of a continuous-wave laser corresponding to a shift from constructive to destructive interference. The experimental results are in very good agreement with numerically simulated phase refractive index values. (C) 2018 Optical Society of America