Low loss amorphous silicon microstructured optical fiber with large mode area behavior

A low loss silicon microstructured optical fiber that is dual moded and exhibits large mode area guidance properties is presented. The fiber was fabricated using a high pressure chemical fluid deposition technique to deposit low loss amorphous silicon into the holes of a pure silica hollow core photonic bandgap fiber. The resulting fiber has a core diameter of 9 µm but a small core-cladding index contrast that significantly suppresses the number of supported modes.