The transition from the near to the far field of the fundamental mode radiating out of a photonic crystal fiber is investigated experimentally and theoretically. It is observed that the hexagonal shape of the near field rotates two times by π/6 when moving into the far field, and eventually six satellites form around a nearly gaussian far-field pattern. A semi-empirical model is proposed, based on describing the near field as a sum of seven gaussian distributions, which qualitatively explains all the observed phenomena and quantitatively predicts the relative intensity of the six satellites in the far field.

© 2002 Optical Society of America

1. �??Focus Issue: Photonic Crystal Fiber,�?? Opt. Express 9, 674�??779 (2001), <a href="http://www.opticsexpress.org/issue.cfm?issue id=124">http://www.opticsexpress.org/issue.cfm?issue id=124</a>. [PubMed]
2. "Special Issue on Photonic Bandgaps,�?? J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt. 3, S103�??S207 (2001).
3. J. C. Knight and P. S. J. Russell, �??Applied optics: New ways to guide light,�?? Science 296, 276�??277 (2002). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
4. J. C. Knight, T. A. Birks, P. S. J. Russell, and D. M. Atkin, �??All-silica single-mode optical fiber with photonic crystal cladding,�?? Opt. Lett. 21, 1547�??1549 (1996). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
5. J. C. Knight, T. A. Birks, P. S. J. Russell, and D. M. Atkin, �??All-silica single-mode optical fiber with photonic crystal cladding: errata,�?? Opt. Lett. 22, 484�??485 (1997). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
6. J. C. Knight, J. Broeng, T. A. Birks, and P. S. J. Russell, �??Photonic band gap guidance in optical fibers,�?? Science 282, 1476�??1478 (1998). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
7. R. F. Cregan, B. J. Mangan, J. C. Knight, T. A. Birks, P. S. J. Russell, P. J. Roberts, and D. C. Allan, �??Single-mode photonic band gap guidance of light in air,�?? Science 285, 1537�??1539 (1999). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
8. T. A. Birks, J. C. Knight, and P. S. J. Russell, �??Endlessly single mode photonic crystal fibre,�?? Opt. Lett. 22, 961�??963 (1997). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
9. J. Broeng, D. Mogilevstev, S. E. Barkou, and A. Bjarklev, �??Photonic crystal fibers: A new class of optical waveguides,�?? Opt. Fiber Technol. 5, 305�??330 (1999). [CrossRef]
10. S. G. Johnson and J. D. Joannopoulos, �??Block-iterative frequency-domain methods for Maxwell�??s equations in a planewave basis,�?? Opt. Express 8, 173�??190 (2000), <a href="http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPEX-8-3-173">http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPEX-8-3-173</a>. [CrossRef]
11. A. K. Ghatak and K. Thyagarajan, Introduction to Fiber Optics (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1998).
12. A. K. Ghatak and K. Thyagarajan, Optical Electronics (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1989). [CrossRef]

J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt.

• "Special Issue on Photonic Bandgaps,�?? J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt. 3, S103�??S207 (2001).

Opt. Express

• �??Focus Issue: Photonic Crystal Fiber,�?? Opt. Express 9, 674�??779 (2001), <a href="http://www.opticsexpress.org/issue.cfm?issue id=124">http://www.opticsexpress.org/issue.cfm?issue id=124</a>. [PubMed]
• S. G. Johnson and J. D. Joannopoulos, �??Block-iterative frequency-domain methods for Maxwell�??s equations in a planewave basis,�?? Opt. Express 8, 173�??190 (2000), <a href="http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPEX-8-3-173">http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPEX-8-3-173</a>. [CrossRef]

Opt. Fiber Technol.

• J. Broeng, D. Mogilevstev, S. E. Barkou, and A. Bjarklev, �??Photonic crystal fibers: A new class of optical waveguides,�?? Opt. Fiber Technol. 5, 305�??330 (1999). [CrossRef]

Opt. Lett.

• T. A. Birks, J. C. Knight, and P. S. J. Russell, �??Endlessly single mode photonic crystal fibre,�?? Opt. Lett. 22, 961�??963 (1997). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• J. C. Knight, T. A. Birks, P. S. J. Russell, and D. M. Atkin, �??All-silica single-mode optical fiber with photonic crystal cladding,�?? Opt. Lett. 21, 1547�??1549 (1996). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• J. C. Knight, T. A. Birks, P. S. J. Russell, and D. M. Atkin, �??All-silica single-mode optical fiber with photonic crystal cladding: errata,�?? Opt. Lett. 22, 484�??485 (1997). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Science

• J. C. Knight, J. Broeng, T. A. Birks, and P. S. J. Russell, �??Photonic band gap guidance in optical fibers,�?? Science 282, 1476�??1478 (1998). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• R. F. Cregan, B. J. Mangan, J. C. Knight, T. A. Birks, P. S. J. Russell, P. J. Roberts, and D. C. Allan, �??Single-mode photonic band gap guidance of light in air,�?? Science 285, 1537�??1539 (1999). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• J. C. Knight and P. S. J. Russell, �??Applied optics: New ways to guide light,�?? Science 296, 276�??277 (2002). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Other

• A. K. Ghatak and K. Thyagarajan, Introduction to Fiber Optics (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1998).
• A. K. Ghatak and K. Thyagarajan, Optical Electronics (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1989). [CrossRef]

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