Experimental and numerical analysis of the chromatic dispersion dependence upon the actual profile of small core microstructured fibres

The chromatic dispersion curve of the fundamental mode in small core microstructured fibres (SCMFs) is both calculated using a finite element method (FEM) and measured with a low coherence interferometric method. The great sensitivity of the chromatic dispersion to variations of the geometrical parameters of SCMFs (the pitch Lambda and the diameter d) is pointed out. Excellent agreement is obtained between the numerical and the experimental results over a half micrometre spectral bandwidth (1.1 - 1.6 mu m).