Optics of globular photonic crystals

Recent experimental and theoretical results on the optical properties of globular photonic crystals coauthored by the author are presented. The dispersion relation for electromagnetic waves in a 1D photonic crystal that simulates the properties of a selected direction in the globular photonic crystal is calculated. The spectral ranges that are characterized by the anomalous slowing of electromagnetic waves in the photonic crystal and correspond to the stop-band edges are determined. A method for the measurement of the transmission and reflection spectra of the broadband radiation in photonic crystals is proposed. The method enables one to find the characteristics of the stop bands. The features of the secondary emission that emerges in opals due to the UV and visible excitation are reported. The conditions for the low-threshold lasing in opals filled with rareearth elements are presented. The experimental results on the induced-globular light scattering are demonstrated. Such a scattering implies the coherent excitation of vibrational states of the globules in a globular photonic crystal. A new phenomenon (slow light scattering) which involves the excitation of slow photons (slowtons) that correspond to the stop-band edges of the photonic crystal is observed. The conditions for the measurement of the slow light scattering in opals excited using the ruby and nitrogen lasers are experimentally determined. The experimental and theoretical results open up the prospects for low-threshold nonlinear optical processes in material media.     

Secondary emission of globular photonic crystals based on the opal-POPOP composite

The spectra of secondary emission of a globular photonic crystal such as the opal matrix filled with the POPOP aromatic compound (a known luminophore) and initial materials excited by semiconductor light-emitting diodes were studied. It was found that the luminescence spectrum of opal filled with POPOP significantly differs from luminescence spectra of POPOP itself and initial opal. It was shown that the observed luminescence in the visible region is mostly caused by three-photon parametric light scattering. In this case, the spectral shape is controlled by the photon density of states, differing from the photon density of states of pure opal. The shape of the secondary emission spectrum of artificial opal filled with POPOP was calculated. The effect of the photonic bandgap position on the intensity distribution of spontaneous emission of used luminophore was established.     

Maximum-exponent scaling behavior of optical second-harmonic generation in finite multilayer photonic crystals

Scaling laws of second-harmonic generation (SHG) in nonlinear Bragg stacks (or finite one-dimensional photonic crystals) as a function of the number N of periods are explored. While it is known that SHG scales like the sixth power of N when phase matching is achieved, we find maximal scaling like the eighth power of N under appropriate non-phase-matching conditions with the pump and harmonic waves being resonant with band-edge states. In this framework we introduce the concept of self-adaptive coherence length that scales with the system length. An analytical treatment based on coupled-mode equations clarifies the conditions for obtaining different scaling laws as a function of filling factor in the photonic gap map.     

Optically excited secondary emission spectra of photonic crystals based on synthetic opals

The photonic dispersion, the group-velocity dispersion, the effective mass, refractive index, and the spectral distribution of the density of photonic states near the edge of the photonic stop band are numerically calculated in the one-dimensional model for photonic crystals based on synthetic opals. The fluorescence spectra of rhodamine 6G and 2,5-bis(2-benzoxazolyl)hydroquinone molecules infiltrated into a synthetic opal are measured. For both substances, it is observed that the spontaneous emission intensity in the range of the photonic stop band is appreciably suppressed. A blue shift of the fluorescence spectrum of rhodamine 6G molecules is revealed. Secondary emission of synthetic opals infiltrated with colloidal silver is observed in the Stokes range under excitation of opals by radiation at λ = 400 nm. The spectrum of the secondary emission is located in the range 450–590 nm, which contains the stop band and intervals near its edges.     

Enhancement of two-photon emission in photonic crystals

We report the influence of photonic stopgaps on two-photon excited emission from highly efficient nonlinear chromophores infiltrated into high-quality photonic crystals. We have observed a sharp decrease (filter effect) in emission within the frequency range and direction of the stopgap as well as sharp enhancement of the two-photon excited emission associated with the stopgap's edge. This effect may be important for the development of low-threshold upconversion lasers.     

Dispersion-based optical routing in photonic crystals

We present and experimentally validate self-collimation in planar photonic crystals as a new means of achieving structureless confinement of light in optical devices. We demonstrate the ability to arbitrarily route light by exploiting the dispersive characteristics of the photonic crystal. Propagation loss as low as 2.17 dB/mm is observed, and proposed applications of these devices are presented.     

Acoustic properties of globular photonic crystals based on synthetic opals

Acoustic properties of globular photonic crystals based on synthetic opals and composed of closely packed SiO₂ globules about 200 nm in diameter are theoretically investigated. Dispersion characteristics of the investigated samples are numerically simulated, and the group velocity of acoustic waves and the effective mass of acoustic phonons are found. It is shown that phononic bandgaps in these photonic crystals are within the gigahertz frequency range. The effective mass of the acoustic phonons corresponding to the edges of the bandgaps is found, and a possibility that bound states of acoustic phonon pairs, biphonons, manifest themselves in the light scattering spectra is discussed.     

Ultrafast optical switching in three-dimensional photonic crystals

We present the first experimental investigation of ultrafast optical switching in a three-dimensional photonic crystal made of a Si-opal composite. Ultrafast (30 fs) changes in reflectivity around the photonic stop band up to 1% were measured for moderate pump power (70 microJ/cm(2)). Short-lived photoexcited carriers in silicon induce changes in the dielectric constant of Si and diminish the constructive interference inside the photonic crystal. The results are analyzed within a model based on a two-band mixing formalism.     

Study of domains in globular photonic crystals by bragg reflection of light

The spatial distribution of the intensity of light reflected from the surface of a globular photonic crystal prepared on the basis of artificial opal was studied. Using a CCD array as a selective radiation receiver and a special computer program, reflection spectra were measured for photonic crystal regions with different colors, referred to as color domains. An analysis of the obtained spectra allows estimation of the homogeneity of the irradiated surface of the photonic crystal, relative areas of color domains, differences in crystal structures of individual color domains, and crystal structure defects.     

Spectroscopy of stop bands of globular photonic crystals filled with water

Reflectance spectra from the surface of artificial opals are measured at various globule diameters. A method for calculating the spectra of globular photonic crystals taking into account the globule size dispersion is proposed. The effect of the filling of opal with water on the spectral position of stop bands is revealed. Satisfactory agreement of theoretical results with experimental data was found.     

Stimulated globular scattering of laser radiation in photonic crystals: Temperature dependences

The characteristics of stimulated globular scattering such as the frequency shift, threshold, and conversion efficiency are studied in photonic crystals (synthetic opal matrices and opal nanocomposites) at different temperatures. The results are compared with the study of stimulated Raman scattering in calcite single crystals. In both cases, a decrease in temperature from +20° C to −196° C resulted in an increase in the energy of stimulated scattering energy and its redistribution into the higher-order components.     

Highly sensitive sensors of molecular compounds based on globular photonic crystals

It is shown that a highly sensitive sensor of molecular structures can be implemented based on the use of globular photonic crystals with a molecular compound introduced into their pores. The technique under development allows performing the spectral analysis of individual molecules in photonic crystal pores. In particular, these experiments showed the possibility of detecting extremely small amounts of molecules of the type of Rhodamine-6G dissolved in an aqueous medium at concentrations ??10^?7 g/cm³ (??10^?10 mol/ml).     

Enhanced second-harmonic generation from planar photonic crystals

Strongly enhanced second-harmonic generation is observed from a two-dimensional square lattice GaAs/AlGaAs photonic crystal waveguide when the fundamental beam, the second-harmonic beam, or both beams resonantly couple to a leaky eigenmode. P-polarized second-harmonic spectra are obtained for s-polarized, 150-fs pump pulses that are tuned from 5000 to 5600 cm(-1) and directed along the gamma-chi direction of the crystal for various angles of incidence. Compared with off-resonant conditions, enhancements of >1200x in the second-harmonic conversion are observed for resonant coupling of both the fundamental and the second-harmonic fields to leaky eigenmnodes. The angular and spectral positions of the peaks are in good agreement with simulations.     

Simultaneous generation of spectrally distinct third harmonics in a photonic crystal fiber

By coupling femtosecond pulses at lambda - 1.55mum in a short length (Z - 95 cm) of photonic crystal fiber, we observe the simultaneous generation of two visible radiation components. Frequency-resolved optical gating experiments combined with analysis and modal simulations suggest that the mechanism for their generation is third-harmonic conversion of the fundamental pulse and its split Raman self-shifted component.     

Thermal emission of macroporous silicon chirped photonic crystals

In this Letter we report on the thermal properties of macroporous silicon photonic crystals with the unit cell gradually varied along the pore axis. We show experimentally that arbitrarily large omnidirectional total-reflectance bands can be produced with such structures. We also demonstrate that those bands can be effectively used to reduce thermal radiation in large spectral bands.     

Ultrafast optical switching in Kerr nonlinear photonic crystals

Nonlinear photonic crystals made from polystyrene materials that have Kerr nonlinearity can exhibit ultrafast optical switching when the samples are pumped by ultrashort optical pulses with high intensity due to the change of the refractive index of polystyrene and subsequent shift of the band gap edge or defect state resonant frequency. Polystyrene has a large Kerr nonlinear susceptibility and almost instantaneous response to pump light, making it suitable for the realization of ultrafast optical switching with a response time as short as a few femtoseconds. In this paper, we review our experimental progress on the continual improvement of all-optical switching speed in two-dimensional and three-dimensional polystyrene nonlinear photonic crystals in the past years. Several relevant issues are discussed and analyzed, including different mechanisms for all-optical switching, preparation of nonlinear photonic crystal samples by means of microfabrication and self-assembly techniques, characterization of optical switching performance by means of femtosecond pump-probe technique, and different ways to lower the pump power of optical switching to facilitate practical applications in optical information processing. Finally, a brief summary and a perspective of future work are provided.     

Temperature dependence of the parameters of stop bands of globular photonic crystals

The results of the experimental study of the characteristics of stop bands of globular photonic crystals are presented depending of the globule diameter, temperature, and the presence of a dielectric medium in pores between globules. The reflectance spectra of the (111) surface of a globular photonic crystal are analyzed using a fiber-optic technique. As the sample temperature is lowered, the reflectance maximum shifts to the long-wavelength spectral region. The spectral characteristics of stop bands are compared with calculations based on the Wolf-Bragg formula.     

Slow-light enhanced optical detection in liquid-infiltrated photonic crystals

Slow-light enhanced optical detection in liquid-infiltrated photonic crystals is theoretically studied. Using a scattering-matrix approach and the Wigner–Smith delay time concept, we show that optical absorbance benefits both from slow-light phenomena as well as a high filling factor of the energy residing in the liquid. Utilizing strongly dispersive photonic crystal structures, we numerically demonstrate how liquid-infiltrated photonic crystals facilitate enhanced light–matter interactions, by potentially up to an order of magnitude. The proposed concept provides strong opportunities for improving existing miniaturized absorbance cells for optical detection in lab-on-a-chip systems.