Measurements of sensitivity of birefringent holey fiber to temperature, elongation, and hydrostatic pressure

We experimentally characterized a holey fiber, whose birefringence is induced by interrupting the hexagonal symmetry of the cladding. Using a scanning wavelength method, we measured the fiber's group modal birefringence in a wide spectral range and compared the experimental results with the theoretical predictions. We also determined the polarimetric sensitivities of the investigated fiber to temperature, elongation, and hydrostatic pressure, which are respectively K/sub T/=-0.066 rad/K/spl times/m, K/sub /spl epsiv//=-1.4 rad/mstrain/spl times/m, and K/sub p/=-10.3 rad/MPa/spl times/m.