Discrete light propagation in photonic liquid crystal fibers

In this paper, the results of theoretical analyses and experimental tests related to the light propagation in the photonic crystal fiber (PCF) infiltrated with liquid crystal (LC) are presented. While refractive index of the inclusion is higher than that of silica glass, analyzed photonic structure can be considered as a matrix of mutually parallel waveguide channels. This connotes discrete light propagation to be observed in the photonic liquid crystal fiber (PLCF), with the output beam profile strongly dependent on geometrical and optical properties of both the beam and the fiber. Moreover, when the optical nonlinearity is taken into account, spatial light localization and/or delocalization can be obtained with the final scenario implied by the amount of optical power and the molecular orientation of LC. In special cases discrete spatial soliton can be obtained, paving thus the way for all-optical switching to be developed n PLCFs.