Geometric Optimization and IPA-Induced Dispersion Tuning in Solid-Core Photonic Crystal Fibers

This study presents a numerical investigation of solid-core photonic crystal fibers with circular and hexagonal cladding geometries. The goal is to optimize optical parameters for nonlinear photonics and environmental sensing. Full-vectorial simulations using FDTD, PWE, and FDE are used to analyze the effects of core diameter, pitch, and air filling fraction on the zero-dispersion wavelength, nonlinear coefficient, effective mode area, and confinement loss. Reducing the core diameter from 2.4 to 1.4 microns tunes the zero-dispersion wavelength from 791 to 646 nanometers and increases the nonlinear coefficient by 72 percent, from 72 to 124 inverse watts per kilometer. The study also examines the effect of isopropyl alcohol infiltration, which causes a red-shift in dispersion and degrades confinement. These results offer a design framework that balances nonlinear efficiency and environmental robustness for supercontinuum generation and chemical sensing.