Microstructured optical waveguide having large optical nonlinearity

A microstructured optical waveguide, the optical waveguide supporting the propagation of an optical signal of a desired wavelength, the optical waveguide comprising:

• a core region formed from an optically nonlinear material having a γ of at least about 2.5×10−19 m2/W at 1260 nm;
• and
• a cladding region surrounding the core region, the cladding region including a bulk material and a plurality of columns arranged in the bulk material, each column having a cross-sectional area and a refractive index,
• wherein the number, arrangement, refractive indices and areas of the columns are selected such that the dispersion of the optical signal at the desired wavelength is within the range of about −35 ps/nm-km to about 35 ps/nm-km.

A microstructured optical waveguide, the optical waveguide supporting the propagation of an optical signal of a desired wavelength, the optical waveguide comprising:

• a core region formed from an optically nonlinear material having a γ of at least about 2.5×10−19 m2/W at 1260 nm:
• and
• a cladding region surrounding the core region, the cladding region including a bulk material and a plurality of columns arranged in the bulk material, each column having a cross-sectional area and a refractive index,
• wherein the number, arrangement, refractive indices and areas of the columns are selected such that the dispersion of the optical signal at the desired wavelength is within the range of about −70 ps/nm-km to about 70 ps/nm-km and wherein the nonlinear optical material of the core has a linear absorption coefficient of less than about 500 dB/km.

A microstructured optical waveguide, the optical waveguide supporting the propagation of an optical signal of a desired wavelength, the optical waveguide comprising:

• a core region formed from an optically nonlinear material having a γ of at least about 2.5×10−19 m2/W at 1260 nm:
• and
• a cladding region surrounding the core region, the cladding region including a bulk material and a plurality of columns arranged in the bulk material, each column having a cross-sectional area and a refractive index,
• wherein the number, arrangement, refractive indices and areas of the columns are selected such that the dispersion of the optical signal at the desired wavelength is within the range of about −70 ps/nm-km to about 70 ps/nm-km and wherein the nonlinear optical material of the core has a linear absorption coefficient, and wherein the ratio of the γ to the linear absorption coefficient is greater than about 5.0×10−21 m2-km/W-dB.

A microstructured optical waveguide, the optical waveguide supporting the propagation of an optical signal of a desired wavelength, the optical waveguide comprising:

• a core region formed from an optically nonlinear material having a γ of at least about 2.5×10−19 m2/W at 1260 nm;
• and
• a cladding region surrounding the core region, the cladding region including a bulk material and a plurality of columns arranged in the bulk material, each column having a cross-sectional area and a refractive index,
• wherein the number, arrangement, refractive indices and areas of the columns are selected such that the dispersion of the optical signal at the desired wavelength is within the range of about −70 ps/nm-km to about 70 ps/nm-km, and the ratio of the dispersion at the desired wavelength to the γ is less than about 4.0×1019 ps-W/nm-km-m2.

A microstructured optical fiber, the optical fiber supporting the propagation of an optical signal of a desired wavelength, the optical fiber comprising:

• a core region formed from an optically nonlinear material having a γ of about 6×10−19 m2/W to 1.999×10−17 m2/W at 1260 nm;
• and
• a cladding region surrounding the core region, the cladding region including a bulk material and a plurality of columns arranged in the bulk material, each column having a cross-sectional area and a refractive index,
• wherein the number, arrangement, refractive indices and areas of the columns are selected such that the dispersion of the optical signal at the desired wavelength is within the range of about −70 ps/nm-km to below 50 ps/nm-km.

An optical communication system for the propagation of an optical signal, the optical communication system comprising:

• a microstructured optical waveguide, the optical waveguide supporting the propagation of an optical signal of a desired wavelength, the optical waveguide comprising a core region formed from an optically nonlinear material having a γ of 6×10−19 m2/W to 1.999×10−17 m2/W at 1260 nm;
• and a cladding region surrounding the core region, the cladding region including a bulk material and a plurality of columns arranged in the bulk material, each column having a cross-sectional area and a refractive index, wherein the number, arrangement, refractive indices and areas of the columns are selected such that the dispersion of the optical signal at the desired wavelength is within the range of about −70 ps/nm-km to below 50 ps/nm-km;
• a signal radiation source for providing the signal at the desired wavelength;
• and
• a signal coupler for coupling the signal into the microstructured optical waveguide.