Propagation of light along the hollow-core photonic crystal fibers filled with plasma

Using the finite element method, the propagation of light along the hollow-core photonic crystal fibers filled with low-temperature glow discharge plasma is investigated. The refractive index of glow discharge plasmas is a function of plasma parameters and incident wavelength. In weakly ionized helium, neon and He–Ne plasmas with low electron density and low electron temperature, the rise in the electron density will increase the plasma oscillation frequency, while the rise in the electron temperature and helium content will increase the collision frequency. In the end, the increase of the wavelength, the plasma oscillation and the collision frequency will cause an increase in the imaginary part of the refractive index. With the air holes occupied by plasmas, the optical field distribution is simulated in photonic bandgap fibers for two different wavelengths. The results show the plasma in microstructured fibers will change the transmission attenuation slightly, and the influence of plasma parameters and plasma components on attenuation has a similar tendency to that on refractive index. (paper)