Accurate measurement of the cutoff wavelength in a microstructured optical fiber by means of an azimuthal filtering technique

A simple self-referenced nondestructive method is proposed for measuring the cutoff wavelength of microstructured optical fibers (MOFs). It is based on the analysis of the time-dependent optical power transmitted through a bow-tie slit rotating in the far-field pattern of the fiber under test. As a first demonstration, the cutoff wavelength of a 2 m MOF sample is found to be close to that provided by numerical predictions (similar to 25 nm higher). Because of the high dynamics of the measurement, the uncertainty is limited to Delta lambda 10 nm. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.