Synthesis and photonic band gap characterization of high quality photonic crystal heterostructures

High quality photonic crystal heterostructures with a thin titania planar defect layer between its two constitutional photonic crystals were fabricated and their structural and optical properties were analyzed. The results suggest that the thin planar defect layer is beneficial to separate the two constitutional photonic crystals from each other and to reduce the roughness of the interface. The quality of the resulting photonic crystal heterostructures is improved largely and the main features of the photonic band gaps of the two constitutional photonic crystals are inherited. The predominant optical quality of these heterostructures (e.g. deep double photonic band gaps and steep photonic band edges) may afford new flexibility and functionality for engineered photonic behavior in practical devices such as late-model light-operated switches.     

Band gap studies of 2D photonic crystals with hybrid scatterers

Two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystals (PCs) of a square lattice with dielectric hybrid rods in air are proposed; these PCs consist of a square rod at the center of the unit cell and additional circular rods with their outermost edges against the middle of each side of the lattice unit cell. The band gap structures of PCs can be tailored and optimized by rotating the square rods and adding circular rods to the lattice unit cell. The variation of bands near the complete photonic band gap boundaries, due to some specific modes, is sensitive to certain structural parameters of the system. The results can be understood by analyzing the spatial energy distribution of the electromagnetic fields. Based on such a field analysis, a novel interpretative model is proposed. The PC can be fabricated easily and operated in the microwave region and, hence, should be suitable for applications in new microwave devices.     

Effect of the dielectric background on dispersion characteristics of metallo-dielectric photonic crystals

We theoretically study the effect of the dielectric background in two-dimensional metallo-dielectric photonic crystals. The metallo-dielectric photonic crystal consists of a square lattice of circular metallic rods embedded into a dielectric background. We calculate the photonic band structure by means of the plane wave method and the frequency-dependent finite-difference time-domain method. The transfer matrix method is used to obtain the reflectivity characteristics. Results show that the band structures shift toward lower frequencies and become flatter when the background dielectric constant increases. In addition, degeneracy can be broken and new gaps can be created in function of the dielectric background. We also found that the relative band gap width Δω/ω_g grows with increasing background dielectric constant and widths as large as 42.3% and 13.8% for the second and third band gaps can be achieved for ε_b = 9. We have investigated the origin of the new gap in these structures by studying the electric-field distribution at the band edges for the first five modes.     

Photonic band gap engineering in 2D photonic crystals

The polarization-dependent photonic band gaps (TM and TE polarizations) in two-dimensional photonic crystals with square lattices composed of air holes in dielectric and vice versa i.e., dielectric rods in air, using the plane-wave expansion method are investigated. We then study, how the photonic band gap size is affected by the changing ellipticity of the constituent air holes/dielectric rods. It is observed that the size of the photonic band gap changes with changing ellipticity of the constituent air holes/dielectric rods. Further, it is reported, how the photonic band gap size is affected by the change in the orientation of the constituent elliptical air holes/dielectric rods in 2D photonic crystals.     

Extension of photonic band gaps in one-dimensional photonic crystals

A method is proposed for extending photonic band gaps by constructing periodic structures from two or more consecutively located photonic crystals with different lattice constants or filling factors. The photonic band gaps with a maximum extension are predicted by superposing the photonic band gap maps on one another. It is demonstrated that both the lowest and higher order band gaps can be merged in photonic crystals with a high refractive index contrast.     

Band gaps of two-dimensional photonic crystal structure using conjugated polymer (3-octylthiophenes)

The possibility of using conjugated polymer (3-octylthiophenes, P3OT) as two-dimensional (2D) photonic band gap crystals was investigated. The different aspects were examined of the absolute photonic band gap (PBG) formation for 2D photonic crystals (PCs) consisting of P3OT pillars in air. The formation of PBG was exhibited and confirmed by a calculation of transfer matrix method (TMM). It was found that P3OT triangular structure could be good candidate for absolute inhibition of reflection in ultraviolet frequency region for given orientation.     

磁导率对二维蜂窝结构光子晶体带隙的影响

利用平面波展开法对二维六角晶格结构磁性光子晶体的带隙特性进行了研究，给出其能带结构分布图，并与非磁性介质构成的光子晶体进行了比较.结果表明，由磁性材料构成的光子晶体更易出现带隙，磁导率对带隙结构影响很大.空气背景磁性散射子情况，磁导率增加较小时，二个绝对光子带隙宽度逐渐减小，直至消失.继续增加磁导率，在较低频率范围内出现一个绝对光子带隙，占空比逐渐加大，且最佳填充系数基本保持不变.磁性背景空气散射子，类似地在较低频率范围内也出现了一个绝对光子带隙.磁性背景非磁性散射子与空气背景磁性散射子情况相似.     

Study on the anisotropic photonic band gaps in three-dimensional tunable photonic crystals containing the epsilon-negative materials and uniaxial materials

In this paper, the properties of anisotropic photonic band gaps (PBGs) for three-dimensional (3D) photonic crystals (PCs) composed of the anisotropic positive-index materials (the uniaxial materials) and the epsilon-negative (ENG) materials with body-centered-cubic (bcc) lattices are theoretically studied by a modified plane wave expansion (PWE) method, which are the uniaxial materials spheres inserted in the epsilon-negative materials background. The anisotropic photonic band gaps (PBGs) and one flatbands region can be achieved in first irreducible Brillouin zone. The influences of the ordinary-refractive index, extraordinary-refractive index, filling factor, the electronic plasma frequency, the dielectric constant of ENG materials and the damping factor on the properties of anisotropic PBGs for such 3D PCs are studied in detail, respectively, and some corresponding physical explanations are also given. The numerical results show that the anisotropy can open partial band gaps in such 3D PCs with bcc lattices composed of the ENG materials and uniaxial materials, and the complete PBGs can be obtained compared to the conventional 3D PCs containing the isotropic materials. The calculated results also show that the anisotropic PBGs can be manipulated by the parameters as mentioned above except for the damping factor. Introducing the uniaxial materials into 3D PCs containing the ENG materials can obtain the larger complete PBGs as such 3D PCs with high symmetry, and also provides a way to design the tunable devices.     

Physics and applications of photonic crystals

In this article, we investigate how the photonic band gaps and the variety of band dispersions of photonic crystals can be utilized for various applications and how they further give rise to completely novel optical phenomena. The enhancement of spontaneous emission through coupled cavity waveguides in a one-dimensional silicon nitride photonic microcrystal is investigated. We then present the highly directive radiation from sources embedded in two-dimensional photonic crystals. The manifestation of novel and intriguing optical properties of photonic crystals are exemplified experimentally by the negative refraction and the focusing of electromagnetic waves through a photonic crystal slab with subwavelength resolution.     

空气环型二维光子晶体完全带隙特性研究

采用平面波展开法, 系统研究了空气环型二维光子晶体的完全光子带隙随结构参数变化而改变的规律, 并将其与普通的空气孔型和介质柱型二维光子晶体的完全带隙进行了比较. 研究表明: 空气环型二维光子晶体不仅可以获得更宽的完全带隙, 而且, 当介质折射率较低时, 其可以获得普通空气孔型和介质柱型二维光子晶体在低折射率条件下所无法获得的完全带隙. 关键词： 空气环型二维光子晶体 完全带隙 平面波展开法     

Zero permittivity band characteristics in one-dimensional plasma dielectric photonic crystal

We consider the oblique propagation of electromagnetic waves in one-dimensional plasma dielectric photonic crystals, the superlattice structure consisting of alternating plasma and dielectric materials using transfer matrix method. Our results show that photonic band gaps for all polarizations can be obtained in one-dimensional plasma dielectric photonic crystals. These structures can exhibit a new type of band or gap, for the incidence angles other than normal incidence, near frequencies where the electric permittivity of the plasma layer changes sign. This new band or gap arises, from the dispersive properties of the plasma layer, only for TM polarized waves and its width increases with the increasing angle of incidence. This differential behaviour under polarization can be utilized in the design of an efficient polarization splitter. The band characteristic is affected by the plasma width, the plasma density, dielectric width, the dielectric constant of the dielectric medium and angle of incidence.     

Uncoupled photonic band gaps

We theoretically investigated the symmetry properties of the modes in two-dimensional square lattice photonic crystals in order to study phenomena that would enable new frontiers in the applications of photonic crystals. Using group theory, symmetry analysis of the photonic crystals bands has been done. Particular attention was given to the search for the uncoupled B modes that cannot be excited by the external plane wave because they are symmetry forbidden. The existence of the uncoupled modes enabled to define new physics phenomena: uncoupled photonic band gaps. For the frequency ranges inside the uncoupled photonic band gaps, zero transmission is obtained. Therefore, there are two different types of photonic gaps in the photonic crystals: photonic band gaps and uncoupled photonic band gaps. The appearance of uncoupled photonic band gaps in photonic crystals could at least improve the application of the existing photonic materials and structures or even enable the usage of new ones for devices like waveguides, filters, and lasers.     

Resonant modes in photonic multiple quantum well structures with single-negative materials

A type of photonic multiple quantum well (PMQWs) structure made of two different photonic crystals (PCs) with two kinds of single-negative materials is investigated. It is demonstrated by transfer matrix method that omnidirectional resonance modes are generated. The number of the resonance modes can be controlled by adjusting the periodic structure of the constituents. The resonance tunneling modes are weak dependence on incident angle and the scaling of the barrier photonic crystals. When the losses are taken into account, the effects of the losses coming from ENG media and MNG media on the resonance modes are striking difference.     

Band gap properties of two-dimensional photonic crystals with rhombic lattice

A new structure of two-dimensional photonic crystals (PCs) with rhombic lattice is proposed in this paper. It provides more flexibility in the design of photonic crystal devices and makes the designer be able to choose a more suitable lattice angle to satisfy different demands. The first Brillouin zone (1st BZ) of this structure is discussed and the general wave vectors are derived. The plane wave expansion (PWE) method is used to analyze the band gap properties. The impact of different lattice angels on the band gaps is analyzed, and the band gap map is also given.     

Anisotropic photonic crystals: Generalized plane wave method and dispersion symmetry properties

This article presents a generalized vector plane wave expansion method, applicable to isotropic and anisotropic periodic dielectric media of arbitrary geometry and dimension. The influence of anisotropic material orientation on the symmetry properties of photonic crystal dispersion surface is discussed. It is shown that the overall Brillouin zone symmetry is formed by the intersection of the photonic crystal lattice symmetry and the symmetry determined by the anisotropic material orientation. This work explains how to define the irreducible Brillouin zone of a two-dimensional anisotropic photonic crystal and demonstrates that doing it correctly allows one to avoid erroneous results, when calculating band gap diagrams of anisotropic photonic crystals. With the help of the methods presented, the possibility of controlling the band gaps of anisotropic photonic crystals by means of external electric field is shown.     

Band structure of photonic crystal fibers with silica rings in triangular lattice

The characteristics of the cladding band structure of air-core photonic crystal fibers with silica rings in triangular lattice are investigated by using a standard plane wave method. The numerical results show that light can be localized in the air core by the photonic band gaps of the fiber. By increasing the air-filling fraction, the band gap edges of the low frequency photonic band gaps shift to shorter wavelength, whereas the band gap width decreases linearly. In order to make a specified light fall in the low frequency band gaps of the fiber, the interplay of the silica ring spacing and the air-filling fraction is also analyzed. It shows that the silica ring spacing increases monotonously when the air-filling fraction is increased, and the spacing range increases exponentially. This type fiber might have potential in infrared light transmission.     

Band gap extension in honeycomb lattice two-dimensional plasma photonic crystals in the presence of dissipation

We investigate two types of honeycomb lattice two-dimensional plasma photonic crystals that possess large photonic band gaps in the presence of dissipation. We obtain a clear insight into the band structures and find imaginary parts of the eigenvalue band structure at the symmetry points display discontinuous behaviour when the filling factor of plasma in type-1 structure is low. Further more, we show how the photonic band gaps are affected by the normalized plasma frequency, radius of cylinder, dielectric constant and collision frequency. Our results demonstrate the band gap extension by increasing normalized plasma frequency in both type structures and radius of plasma cylinders in type-1 structure. The width of band gaps could also be enlarged by decreasing dielectric cylinder's radius. The bands shift toward lower frequencies when relative dielectric constant increases in both two types. These results may provide theoretical instructions to design new optoelectronic devices.     

高质量三维光子晶体的实验制备及理论分析

对压强控制自组装法进行了改进,采用了密封硅胶颗粒的强吸水装置,为光子晶体样品的制备提供了一个稳定的温度、湿度和压强环境.将温度、压强分别控制在35 ℃、45 mmHg,利用直径为260 nm的聚苯乙烯胶体球进行了高质量三维光子晶体样品的制备.从理论计算和实验测量等方面对制备的光子晶体样品的结构、质量和性能进行了对比分析,结果表明,利用该实验装置进行光子晶体样品的制备时,可重复性高;制备的光子晶体样品具有较为完美有序的密堆结构,质量较好;在光子晶体样品的Г L方向有深且窄的光子带隙和陡峭的带隙边沿.光子带隙深度为83%,宽度为0.073,带隙边沿陡峭度为8%/nm,这为超快全光开关等先进的光学设备的研究奠定了基础.     

Comparison of photonic bandgaps of two-dimensional periodic and quasi-periodic photonic crystals with different relative permittivity dielectric

Photonic bandgaps (PBGs) of two-dimensional (2D) triangular-lattice and square-lattice and decagonal quasi-periodic photonic crystals (PCs) have been analyzed, with a given scatterer radius and dielectric relative permittivity changing from 1 to 30 within air-cylinders-in-dielectric and dielectric-cylinders-in-air constructions. The results have shown that 2D quasi-periodic PC is more likely to generate PBG and complete PBG than 2D periodic PC. For the given scatterer radius and two constructions, PBG widths of the two types of 2D PCs vary little, whereas the corresponding center frequencies decrease in smooth “hyperbola-like” curves with dielectric relative permittivity increasing monotonically. The present results will guide the design of PBG-type microstructure photonic devices.     

One-dimensional photonic crystal design

In this article we present a method to determine the band spectrum, band gaps, and discrete energy levels, of a one-dimensional photonic crystal with localized impurities. For one-dimensional crystals with piecewise constant refractive indices we develop an algorithm to recover the refractive index distribution from the period map. Finally, we derive the relationship between the period map and the scattering matrix containing the information on the localized modes.