Large-pitch kagome-structured hollow-core photonic crystal fiber

We report the fabrication and characterization of a new type of hollow-core photonic crystal fiber based on large-pitch (similar to 12 mu m) kagome lattice cladding. The optical characteristics of the 19-cell, 7-cell, and single-cell core defect fibers include broad optical transmission bands covering the visible and near-IR parts of the spectrum with relatively low loss and low chromatic dispersion, no detectable surface modes and high confinement of light in the core. Various applications of such a novel fiber are also discussed, including gas sensing, quantum optics, and high harmonic generation. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.