Birefringence and Confinement Loss Properties in Photonic Crystal Fibers Under Lateral Stress

Using the finite-element method, we investigate lateral stress-induced novel characteristics of birefringence and confinement loss in a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) of hexagonal symmetry. The results of simulation show us strong stress dependence of birefringence and confinement loss. We also find that the contribution of the geometrical effect that is related only to deformation of the PCF and the stress-related contribution to birefringence and confinement loss are entirely different. Furthermore, polarization- dependent stress sensitivity of confinement loss is proposed in this letter.