Finazzi, V.Monro, T.Richardson, D.2007-08-272007-08-272003Journal of the Optical Society of America B: Optical Physics, 2003; 20(7):1427-14360740-32241520-8540http://hdl.handle.net/2440/37492Holey fibers with small-core dimensions relative to the optical wavelength and large air-filling fractions offer tight mode confinement and are therefore attractive for highly nonlinear fiber applications. We investigated the role of confinement loss in these small-core fibers to optimize the design of practical highly nonlinear fibers. We found that silica holey fibers can exhibit effective nonlinearities as great as 52 W−1 km−1 and that the confinement loss can be less than the losses of standard fiber types. We show that the dispersive properties of some of the designs are suitable for a range of device applications.en© 2003 Optical Society of AmericaJournal article002007112210.1364/JOSAB.20.0014270001841722000042-s2.0-004130841648616