Waveguide arrays in selectively infiltrated photonic crystal fibres

The periodic array of air holes in the cladding of a photonic crystal fibre (PCF) provides a convenient scaffold for the introduction of an infiltrating liquid. In this paper we demonstrate a novel platform of one-dimensional tuneable nonlinear photonic lattices produced by selectively infiltrating a row of holes in a PCF. Such structures have been realised by blocking individual holes on one end of a PCF, leaving the desired infiltration pattern unblocked. Unblocked holes are then infiltrated by immersing the unblocked end of the fibre in a reservoir of the infiltrating liquid, allowing for the realisation of a wide variety of periodic structures. Such structures are studied for traditional linear and nonlinear effects in periodic systems.