Fabrication and optical properties of lead silicate glass holey fibers

Abstract We report on recent progress in lead silicate holey fibers for non-linear device applications. Improvements in the fabrication have resulted in core diameters as small as 1.7 μm, increased air-suspension of the core and reduced propagation loss of 2.6 dB/m. This small core fiber exhibits a record non-linearity of 640 W−1 km−1.