Solid-core square-lattice photonic crystal fibers: comparative studies of the single-mode regime and numerical aperture for circular and square air-holes

In this paper we have studied solid-core square-lattice PCFs with circular and square shaped air-holes. We have estimated the V-parameter by using the step-index fiber approximation (SIFA) and calculated numerical apertures for the structures considered. In order to estimate the effective core radius of the structure with the square shaped air-holes we have used an approximation based on the air-filling fraction.