Thermal Management in Honeycomb Photonic Crystal Fibers: A Theoretical Model for High-Power Laser Applications

This paper explores the thermal conductivity characteristics of photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) with a honeycomb lattice structure. The honeycomb design, inspired by nature, offers unique advantages in various applications due to its structural stability and efficient thermal management properties. By developing and enhancing previous analytical models, we calculate the effective thermal conductivity of these fibers. Key improvements include incorporating two-dimensional heat diffusion and cylindrical layer resistance to provide accurate results, especially for materials with high thermal resistance. Additionally, the simplification of unit cell geometry and exclusion of rotational effects further streamline the modeling process. The findings demonstrate that the thermal conductivity is significantly influenced by the hole size, air filling factor, and the number of layers in the structure. Our results indicate that beyond a certain number of layers, the increase in thermal conductivity stabilizes, suggesting an optimal layer count of 6–10 for practical applications. This research offers valuable insights into optimizing the design of PCFs for high-power laser applications and environments with significant thermal gradients.