Analytical evaluation of bending loss oscillations in photonic crystal fibers

In this paper we present an analytical formula for bending loss oscillations in photonic crystal fibers (PCFs). We follow the approach originally adopted for conventional double-clad fibers and show that it can be applied to PCFs by substituting the structural parameters of the conventional fiber by their PCF counterparts. We then examine the spectral dependence of the critical bending radius and the position of the first order loss peak as a function of structural parameters of the PCF cladding such as the fill factor and the number of hole rings. Finally, we evaluate the precision of the analytical model by comparing the results to finite element calculations for a selection of PCF geometries.