Optical modulation in hybrid antiresonant hollow-core fiber infiltrated with vanadium dioxide phase change nanocrystals.

We present a study of optical modulation by the effect of temperature-induced insulator-to-metal phase transition of vanadium dioxide (VO2) nanocrystals deposited in an antiresonance hollow-core fiber (AR-HCF). We fabricate such a VO2-coated fiber by embedding alkylsilane functionalized VO2 nanocrystals into the air holes of an AR-HCF. With this fiber, we achieve an optical loss modulation of similar to 60% at a temperature above similar to 53 degrees C over an ultrabroad spectral range that encompasses the S+C+ L band. (C) 2020 Optical Society of America