Modelling photonic crystal fibres

One of the potential applications of photonic crystals is the so-called photonic crystal fibres. These systems can be constructed, for example, using a long thread of silica glass with a periodic array of airholes running down its length. If the central hole is absent, we generate a high-index “defect” in the repeating structure which acts like the core of an optical fibre. We study the propagation of light in these fibres. We solve the Maxwell equations using the plane wave expansion and the super cell method.