Imaging by Photonic Crystal Using Reflection and Negative Refraction

Point imaging by a photonic crystal slab due to the negative refraction is studied by the finite-difference timedomain method. With a layer metal coating on one termination of a photonic crystal （PC） slab which intensifies the light reflection, one image occurs in the same side with the point source by negative refraction and reflection at the two sides of the photonic crystal slab, which brings about a new kind of imaging for the PC slab.     

A Y-Branch Photonic Crystal Slab Waveguide with an Ultrashort Interport Interval

We fabricated two-dimensional photonic crystal slab Y-branch waveguides with different intervals between the two output ports and measured their light guiding characteristics. The field intensity distributions of the TE polarized wave modes are also calculated by means of a transfer matrix method. Both the theoretical and experimental results show that the minimum interval between the two output ports is about 1.4 times the transport wavelength of 1.55μm. If the interval becomes smaller, light waves in the two branches will couple each other seriously. The result will be helpful for designs of ultracompact wave demultiplexers and all-optical integrated circuits.     

Fiber optical parametric oscillator based on photonic crystal fiber pumped with all-normal-dispersion mode-locked Yb:fiber laser

We demonstrate a cost effective, linearly tunable fiber optical parametric oscillator based on a home-made photonic crystal fiber pumped with a mode-locked ytterbium-doped fiber laser, providing linely tuning ranges from 1018 nm to 1038 nm for the idler wavelength and from 1097 nm to 1117 nm for the signal wavelength by tuning the pump wavelength and the cavity length. In order to obtain the desired fiber with a zero dispersion wavelength around 1060 rim, eight sam- ples of photonic crystal fibers with gradually changed structural parameters are fabricated for the reason that it is difficult to accurately customize the structural dimensions during fabrication. We verify the usability of the fabricated fiber experimen- tally via optical parametric generation and conclude a successful procedure of design, fabirication, and verification. A seed source of home-made all-normal-dispersion mode-locked ytterbium-doped fiber laser with 38.57 ps pulsewidth around the 1064 nm wavelength is used to pump the fiber optical parametric oscillator. The wide picosecond pulse pump laser enables a larger walk-off tolerance between the pump light and the oscillating light as well as a longer photonic crystal fiber of 20 m superior to the femtosecond pulse lasers, resulting in a larger parametric amplification and a lower threshold pump power of 15.8 dBm of the fiber optical parametric oscillator.     

A photonic crystal waveguide with silicon on insulator in the near-infrared band

A two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystal waveguide in the \Gamma--K direction with triangular lattice on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate in the near-infrared band is fabricated by the combination of electron beam lithography and inductively coupled plasma etching. Its transmission characteristics are analysed from the stimulated band diagram by the effective index and the 2D plane wave expansion (PWE) methods. In the experiment, the transmission band edge in a longer wavelength of the photonic crystal waveguide is about 1590\,nm, which is in good qualitative agreement with the simulated value. However, there is a disagreement between the experimental and the simulated results when the wavelength ranges from 1607 to 1630\,nm, which can be considered as due to the unpolarized source used in the transmission measurement.     

Spectral Broadening in a Polarization-Maintaining Photonic Crystal Fibre by Femtosecond Pulses from an Optical Parametric Amplifier

The spectral broadening with the bandwidth of 83nm (1.2486-1.3318μm) in the 1.3μm region is achieved in a 0.2-m-long, polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fibre (PCF) with an average core radius of 1.8 μm, pumped by optical pulses at the wavelength 1.269μm, with the duration 25ors and the repetition rate 250kHz from an optical parametric amplifier. The polarization characteristics of the output spectra are also investigated.     

Structure Tuning of Line-Defect Waveguides Based on Silicon-on-Insulator Photonic Crystal Slabs

We present fabrication and experimental measurement of a series of photonic crystal waveguides. The complete devices consist of an injector taper down from 3 μm into a triangular-lattice air-hole single-line-defect waveguide with lattice constant from 410nm to 470nm and normalized radius 0.31. We fabricate these devices on a silicon- on-insulator substrate and characterize them using a t unable laser source over a wavelength range from 1510 nm to 1640nm. A sharp attenuation at photonic crystal waveguide mode edge is observed for most structures. The edge of guided band is shifted about 30nm with the 10nm increase of the lattice constant, We obtain high-efficiency light propagation and broad flat spectrum response of the photonic crystal waveguides.     

Compact and broadband waveguide taper based on partial bandgap photonic crystals

Partial bandgap characteristics of parallelogram lattice photonic crystals are proposed to suppress the radiation modes in a compact dielectric waveguide taper so as to obtain high transmittance in a large wavelength range. Band structure of the photonic crystals shows that there exists a partial bandgap, The photonie crystals with partial bandgap are then used as the cladding of a waveguide taper to reduce the radiation loss efficiently. In comparison with the conventional dielectric taper and the complete bandgap photonic crystal taper, the partial bandgap photonic crystal taper has a high transmittance of above 85% with a wide band of 170 nm.     

Asymmetric light propagation based on semi-circular photonic crystals

A new structure based on a semi-circular photonic crystal is proposed to achieve asymmetric light propagation. The semi-circular photonic crystal structure proposed in this paper is a deformation of a two-dimensional conventional square photonic crystal. Through the directional bandgap of the semi-circular photonic crystal, the light from one direction can transfer to the other side, but the light from the opposite direction cannot. A high contrast ratio is obtained by designing the constitutive parameters of the photonic crystal and choosing the suitable light frequency. This structure promises a significant potential in optical integration and other areas.     

A novel design for single-polarization single-mode photonic crystal fiber at 1550 nm

The present paper proposes a novel design for achieving single-polarization single-mode (SPSM) operation at 1550 nm in photonic crystal fiber (PCF), using a rectangular-lattice PCF with two lines of three central air holes enlarged. The proposed PCF composed entirely of silica material is modeled by a full-vector finite element method with anisotropic perfectly matched layers. Simulations show that single-polarization operation within broad wavelength range can be easily realized with the proposed structure. The wideband SPSM operation features, the low confinement losses, and the small effective mode area are the main advantages of the proposed PCF structure. A SPSM-PCF with confinement loss less than 0.1 dB/km within wavelength range from 1370 to 1610 nm and effective mode area about 4.7μm2 at 1550 nm is numerically demonstrated.     

Subwavelength-diameter silica wire for light in-coupling to silicon-based waveguide

Coupling between subwavelength-diameter silica wires and silicon-based waveguides is studied using the parallel three-dimensional (3D) finite-different time-domain method.Conventional butt-coupling to a silica-substrated silicon wire waveguide gives above 40% transmission at the wavelength range from 1300 to 1750 nm with good robustness against axial misalignments.Slow light can be generated by counter- directional coupling between a silica wire and a two-dimensional (2D) silicon photonic crystal slab waveg- uide.Through dispersion-band engineering,82% transmission is achieved over a coupling distance of 50 lattice constants.The group velocity is estimated as 1/35 of the light speed in vacuum.     

Numerical Simulation and Experimental Analysis of Photonic Band Gap in Hollow-Core Photonic Crystal Fibres

Based on the full-vector plane-wave method （FVPWM）, a hollow-core photonic crystal fibre （HC-PCF） fabricated by using the improved stack-and-draw technique is simulated. Under given propagation constants β, several effective photonie band gaps with different sizes emerge within the visible wavelength range from 575 to 720 nm. The fundamental mode and second-order mode lying in a part of PBGs are investigated. In the transmission spectrum tested, the positions of PBGs are discovered to be shifting to shorter wavelengths. The main reason is the existence of interstitial holes at nodes in the cladding region. In the later experiment, green light is observed propagating in the air-core region, and the result is more consistent with our theoretical simulation.     

All-Fibre Ytterbium-Doped Photonic Crystal Fibre Laser with High Efficiency

A double-cladding ytterbium-doped photonic crystal fibre （PCF） with a 350-μm^2 effective area is fabricated. The measurement results show that the PCF has high absorption peak at 915 nm. Its fluorescence lifetime is 840μs. Laser experiments with all-fibre configurations are carried out with this fibre. A continuous-wave output power of 3.96 W is achieved with a 5.2 W launched pump power. The central wavelength of the output spectrum is 1080.22nm. The results show that the PCF laser has a high slope efficiency of 79.6% and light conversion efficiency of 76.2%.     

Different supercontinuum generation processes in photonic crystal fibers pumped with a 1064-nm picosecond pulse

Picosecond pulse pumped supercontinuum generation in photonic crystal fiber is investigated by performing a series of comparative experiments. The main purpose is to investigate the supercontinuum generation processes excited by a given pump source through the experimental study of some specific fibers. A 20-W all-fiber picosecond master oscillator-power amplifier （MOPA） laser is used to pump three different kinds of photonic crystal fibers for supercontinuum generation. Three diverse supercontinuum formation processes are observed to correspond to photonie crystal fibers with distinct dis- persion properties. The experimental results are consistent with the relevant theoretical results. Based on the above analyses, a watt-level broadband white light supercontinuum source spanning from 500 nm to beyond 1700 nm is demonstrated by using a picosecond fiber laser in combination with the matched photonic crystal fiber. The limitation of the group velocity matching curve of the photonic crystal fiber is also discussed in the paper.     

Light-Propagation Characteristics of Photonic Crystal Waveguide Based on SOI Materials at Different Polarized States

Straight single-line defect optical waveguides in photonic crystal slabs are designed by the plane wave expansion method and fabricated into silicon-on-insulator （SOI） wafer by 248-nm deep UV lithography. We present an emcient way to measure the light transmission spectrum of the photonic crystal waveguide （PhC WG） at given polarization states. By employing the Mueller/Stokes method, we measure and analyse the light propagation properties of the PhC WG at different polarized states. It is shown that experimental results are in agreement with the simulation results of the three-dimensional finite-difference-time-domain method.     

In-Situ Characterization of Three-Dimensional Optical Matters by Light Diffraction

Three-dimensional optical matters are created by combining the single beam optical trapping with the conventional Z-scan technique. Dynamic light diffraction is employed to evaluate the structure and quality of the optical matter formed at the optimum trapping power. The lattice constant of the optical matter is extracted based on the Bragg and Snell laws, showing that polystyrene spheres are nearly close-packed in the optical matter, confirmed by comparing the diffraction pattern of the optical matter with that of a colloidal photonic crystal fabricated by the self-assembled technique. The relatively broad diffraction peaks observed in the optical matter indicate that the density of disorders in it is higher than that in the photonic crystal. It is suggested that the optical matter possesses a random close-packed structure rather than a face centered cubic one.Three-dimensional optical matters are created by combining the single beam optical trapping with the conven- tional Z-scan technique. Dynamic light diffraction is employed to evaluate the structure and quality of the optical matter formed at the optimum trapping power. The lattice constant of the optical matter is extracted based on the Bragg and Snell laws, showing that polystyrene spheres are nearly close-packed in the optical matter, confirmed by comparing the diffraction pattern of the optical matter with that of a colloidal photonic crystal fabricated by the self-assembled technique. The relatively broad diffraction peaks observed in the optical matter indicate that the density of disorders in it is higher than that in the photonic crystal. It is suggested that the optical matter possesses a random close-packed structure rather than a face centered cubic one.     

Fabrication of High Quality Three-Dimensional Photonic Crystals

High quality colloidal photonic crystals made from polystyrene spheres with diameter 24Ohm are fabricated by the vertical deposition method. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the transmittance spectrum are used to characterize the properties of the photonic crystal. The SEM images show that there are few lattice defects. The transmittance of the photonic crystal is above 75% in the pass band at 700nm and is lower than 5% at the centre of the band gap, respectively. It is found that proper concentration is a very important factor to fabricate the photonic crystal when the diameter of the spheres is lower than 30Onm.     

High－Power Blue Light Generation by External Frequency Doubling of an Optical Parametric Oscillator ＊

We report on an all-solid-state high-power quasi-continuous blue light source by the frequency doubling of asignal wave from an optical parametric oscillator (OPO). A 50-mm-long LiB305 (LBO) crystal is used for theOPO, which is pumped by a diode-pumped Nd:YAG green laser (1OkHz, 50ns). Tunable blue emission in a newnonlinear crystal BiB306 (BiBO) is obtained with a wavelength range from 450 to 495 nm. The average power ofthe signal output is as high as 9.3 W from 924 to 970nm. The maximum output of the blue laser with the secondharmonic walk-off compensation is 1.3W average power at 470nm for 6.2W of OPO signal light at 940nm.     

Broadband polarization beam splitter based on a negative refractive lithium niobate photonic crystal slab

Using a lithium niobate(LN) material, we propose a broadband polarization beam splitter(PBS) with high efficiency by employing a negative refractive photonic crystal(PhC) wedge slab with an angle of 60°. It can split the incident light into two parts at about 90° with TE and TM polarizations. The transmissions of polarized light for an LN-based PBS are more than 80% with a broad angle and wavelength bandwidth of 8° and 70 nm at1.55 ^rni, while with a Si-based PhC, no PBS with high efficiency can be realized for the relatively lower transmission of TM output light.     

Ultra-violet and mid-infrared continuum generation by cross-phase modulation between red-shifted solitons and blue-shifted dispersive waves in a photonic crystal fiber

Using a photonic crystal fiber with a zero dispersion wavelength of the fundamental mode at 780 nm designed and fabricated in our lab, the ultraviolet and mid-infrared continua are generated by cross-phase modulation between red-shift solitons and blue-shift dispersive waves. The dependences of continuum on the pump power and wavelength are investigated. With the pump working at 820 nm, when the pump power increases from 300 to 500 mW, the bandwidths of ultraviolet and mid-infrared continua change from 80 to 140 nm and 100 to 200 nm, respectively. The wavelength of ultraviolet continuum is below 246 nm, and the wavelength of mid-infrared continuum exceeds 2500 nm. Moreover, the influences of pump power on wavelength and conversion efficiency of different parts of continua are also demonstrated.     

Generation of Anti-Stokes Line in Fundamental Mode of Photonic Crystal Fibre

A photonic crystal fibre （PCF） with zero-dispersion wavelength around 800 nm is designed and fabricated. Simulated results show that the zero-dispersion wavelength of fundamental mode for this PCF is at 826nm, and phase-matched four-wave mixing can be achieved in fundamental mode. Using 20ors Ti：sapphire laser with central wavelength at 810nm as pump, the anti-Stokes line around 610hm ＆ generated efficiently. The output signal has a Gaussian-like profile, which indicates that the anti-Stokes signal is in the fundamental mode of the PCF. The energy of anti-Stokes signal is higher than that of residual pump laser and the maximum ratio of the anti-Stokes signal to the pump component in the output spectrum is estimated to be 1.2.