Stress-induced birefringence in microstructured optical fibers.

We present a numerical study of stress-induced birefringence in microstructured optical fibers (MOFs), using a finite-element method. MOFs under lateral forces and twists are considered separately. Compared with that in standard single-mode optical fibers, stress-induced linear birefringence in MOFs under a lateral force is reduced with increasing air-hole size, whereas twist-induced circular birefringence in MOFs is enhanced when the air-hole size is small.