Synthesis of polarization-independent splitters based on highly birefringent dual-core photonic crystal fiber platforms

The objective of this letter is to introduce and numerically investigate the operation of a novel type of polarization-independent splitter based on highly birefringent dual-core photonic crystal fiber (PCF), which allows wavelength multiplexing at 1.3 and 1.55 mum. The design procedure follows a rigorous synthesis algorithm based on exact equations for describing the wavelength decoupling mechanism and on full-vector finite element as well as beam propagation methods for accurate modeling of PCFs. Typical characteristics of the newly proposed PCF splitter are coupling length of 9.08 mm and available optical bandwidths defined at a level of -20 dB of 5.5 and 2 nm around 1.3 and 1.55 mum, respectively