Photonic crystal tapers for ultracompact mode conversion

We have studied the coupling of a classic ridge waveguide with a two-dimensional photonic crystal (PC) waveguide, using finite-difference time-domain calculations. The ridge waveguide exhibits only a weak refractive-index confinement of light, as it is commonly used in buried-heterostructure or ridge-waveguide lasers. The light is coupled to a PC waveguide that consists of one missing row along the ?K direction in a triangular lattice of air cylinders in AlGaAs. We compare various designs for PC tapers with that of a classic taper and for butt coupling. The calculation yields high coupling efficiency that exceeds 80% for a 2.5-microm-long PC taper. In addition, the dependence of the efficiency on the PC air-fill factor and on alignment tolerances is analyzed.     

基于表面波的新型光子晶体分束器

通过激发光子晶体-光子晶体表面波的方法,设计出了一种由表面修饰光子晶体组成的新型复合结构。利用平面波展开法结合超原胞技术对该结构的耦合表面波色散关系进行了研究,在此基础上利用时域有限差分法对光束在该结构中的传输特性进行了数值模拟,并分析了其物理机制。研究结果表明,所提出的新型结构,对一定频率范围内的传输光,能够实现输出光的分束,此特征可以用来制作光束分束器。     

基于表面波的新型光子晶体分束器

通过激发光子晶体-光子晶体表面波的方法,设计出了一种由表面修饰光子晶体组成的新型复合结构。利用平面波展开法结合超原胞技术对该结构的耦合表面波色散关系进行了研究,在此基础上利用时域有限差分法对光束在该结构中的传输特性进行了数值模拟,并分析了其物理机制。研究结果表明,所提出的新型结构,对一定频率范围内的传输光,能够实现输出光的分束,此特征可以用来制作光束分束器。     

Ion detection with photonic crystal microcavities

We have experimentally demonstrated a cation and anion sensor by using short linear photonic crystal microcavities with an embedded quantum dot active region. The photonic crystal microcavity covered with an ion-selective polymer forms a submicrometer optical detection system sensitive to small changes of perchlorate anion (ClO4(-)) and calcium cation (Ca2+) concentrations.     

Photonic crystal sensor based on surface waves for thin-film characterization

A new sensor based on optical surface waves in truncated one-dimensional photonic crystals is proposed for use in determining the optical properties of metallic or dielectric thin films and bulk media. Specifically, the method of optical characterization takes into account the changes that the surface waves of a layered structure undergo when either a thin film of arbitrary material is added at the surface or the optical properties of transmission medium change. For the surface-wave excitation the Kretschmann configuration used in attenuated total reflectance is employed.     

Photonic crystal devices

We developed photochemically controlled photonic crystals which may be useful in novel recordable and erasable memories and/or display devices. These materials can operate in the UV, visible or near IR spectral regions. Information is recorded and erased by exciting the photonic crystal with ∼ 360 nm UV light or ∼ 480 nm visible light. The recorded information is read out by measuring the photonic crystal diffraction wavelength. The active element of the device is an azobenzene functionalized hydrogel which contains an embedded crystalline colloidal array. UV excitation forms cis-azobenzene while visible excitation forms trans-azobenzene. Larger dipole moment of the cis-form results in decrease of the free energy of mixing which causes the hydrogel to swell and to red-shift the photonic crystal diffraction with a 36 s time constant. We also observed fast ms and sub-ms transient dynamics associated with convection due to heating of the medium by UV excitation. Convective motion of the medium stretches the PCCA for about 6 μs within which the convection decays and the elastic restoring force of the PCCA brings back the stretched PCCA to its equilibrium state with 33 μs time constant. Paper presented at the 2nd International Conference on Ionic Devices, Anna University, Chennai, India, Nov. 28–30, 2003.     

Photonic crystal fiber with a flattened fundamental mode for the fiber lasers

The 1-hole-missing and 7-hole-missing photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) with flattened fundamental modes (FMs) are proposed by introducing a layer of up-doped silica into the core of the PCFs. The transverse mode competitions are compared between the 7-hole-missing PCF lasers with and without flattened-FMs. The numerical results show that the flattened-FM PCF lasers can support the single transverse mode operation, even for a large value of the ratio of air hole diameter to the spacing between holes (up to 0.53).     

基于超连续谱的光子晶体光纤表面等离子体效应

 提出了利用光子晶体光纤空气孔塌缩技术制作光子晶体光纤表面等离子体共振传感器,构建了空气孔完全塌缩的光子晶体光纤表面等离子体共振传感器模型,并模拟计算了其中的表面等离子体共振效应。制作了全光纤化的波长检测型的光子晶体光纤表面等离子体共振传感器,利用超连续谱光源进行了相关实验。实验结果表明:以空气为待测环境介质时,对应的共振波长为465 nm,与理论计算相符合。     

基于超连续谱的光子晶体光纤表面等离子体效应

提出了利用光子晶体光纤空气孔塌缩技术制作光子晶体光纤表面等离子体共振传感器,构建了空气孔完全塌缩的光子晶体光纤表面等离子体共振传感器模型,并模拟计算了其中的表面等离子体共振效应。制作了全光纤化的波长检测型的光子晶体光纤表面等离子体共振传感器,利用超连续谱光源进行了相关实验。实验结果表明:以空气为待测环境介质时,对应的共振波长为465 nm,与理论计算相符合。     

Ultrasmall mode volumes in dielectric optical microcavities

We theoretically demonstrate a mechanism for reduction of mode volume in high index contrast optical microcavities to below a cubic half wavelength. We show that by using dielectric discontinuities with subwavelength dimensions as a means of local field enhancement, the effective mode volume (V(eff)) becomes wavelength independent. Cavities with V(eff) on the order of 10(-2)(lambda/2n)(-3) can be achieved using such discontinuities, with a corresponding increase in the Purcell factor of nearly 2 orders of magnitude relative to previously demonstrated high index photonic crystal cavities.     

Photonic crystal fiber for fundamental mode operation of multicore fiber lasers and amplifiers

A mode-selection method based on a single-mode photonic crystal fiber (PCF) in the multicore fiber (MCF) lasers is presented. The designed PCF has a central core region formed by a missing air-hole, and three air-hole rings. With an appropriate choice of the design parameters of the PCF, the power coupling between the fundamental mode (FM) of the PCF and the fundamental MCF mode can be much higher than those between the FM and the other supermodes. As a result, the fundamental MCF mode has the maximum power reflection coefficient on the right-hand side of the MCF laser cavity, and dominates the output laser power. Since the maximum power of the fundamental MCF mode will lead to the desired laser beam profile, higher the fraction of the fundamental MCF mode power contained in the total output power contributes to higher beam quality. The numerical simulations show that the effectiveness of the fundamental MCF mode-selection is higher in the MCF lasers with the PCF as a mode-selection component than in the MCF lasers based on the free-space Talbot cavity method. Additionally, for the MCF amplifiers, an approach is presented to decrease the sensitivity of the amplifier performance to the variation of Gaussian beam waist utilizing the coupling between the Gaussian beam and the FM of the PCF. The numerical results show that this method can effectively increase the design flexibility for a broad range of the Gaussian beam waist.     

Photonic crystal fiber coupler

Fiber couplers made with photonic crystal fibers (PCF) are reported. Two types of PCF were fabricated by means of stacking a group of silica tubes around a silica rod and drawing them. The fiber couplers were made by use of the fused biconical tapered method. With a fiber that had five hexagonally stacked layers of air holes, a 33/67 coupling ratio was obtained, and with a one-layer four-hole fiber, a 48/52 coupling ratio was obtained. The fabrication processes and the characteristics of the PCFs and the PCF couplers are presented.     

Photonic crystal beam splitters

In this work, the beam splitter with two input ports and two output ports in two-dimensional photonic crystals is studied through the finite-difference time-domain method. The beam splitter consists of two orthogonally cross line defects. The diameter of the two diagonal air holes at the intersection of the two line defects was modified. The input light can be identically divided into the two output ports. The beam splitters can be applied in the photonic crystal Mach-Zehnder interferometers or photonic crystal optical switches.     

Photonic crystal optical memory

After several decades pushing the technology and the development of the world, the electronics is giving space for technologies that use light. We propose and analyze an optical memory embedded in a nonlinear photonic crystal (PhC), whose system of writing and reading data is controlled by an external command signal. This optical memory is based on optical directional couplers connected to a shared optical ring. Such a device can work over the C-Band of ITU (International Telecommunication Union).     

光半导体--光子晶体

概述了光子晶体的特性、发展历程、理论基础及其潜在应用等,特别介绍了光子晶体的制备方法.     

Design of tapering one-dimensional photonic crystal ultrahigh-Q microcavities

One-dimensional (1D) photonic crystal (PC) microcavities can be readily embedded into silicon-on-insulator waveguides for photonic integration. Such structures are investigated by 2D Finite-Difference Time-Domain method to identify designs with high transmission which is essential for device integration. On-resonance transmission is found to decrease with the increasing mirror pairs, however, the quality factor (Q) increases to a saturated value. The addition to the Bragg mirrors of tapered periods optimized to produce a cavity mode with a near Gaussian shaped envelope results in a major reduction in vertical loss. Saturated Q up to 2.4 × 10⁶ is feasible if the internal tapers are properly designed. The effect of increasing transmission is also demonstrated in a structure with the external tapers.     

光子晶体集成光电子器件

文章简要介绍了利用光子晶体实现微纳尺度上光调控的物理原理和工作机制,重点讨论了如何利用光子晶体的缺陷态实现微纳尺度的各种集成光电子器件,并结合文章作者所在研究组的研究工作经验,简单回顾了各种类型的集成光电子器件的工作原理、物理实现和光学特性.     

光子晶体液体浓度传感器

为了有效地检测混合液体的浓度,运用平面波展开法与光子晶体禁带理论,研究了光子晶体禁带宽度和混合液体浓度的对应关系。以砷化镓(GaAs)为背景材料的三角格子空气孔二维光子晶体内分别填充不同浓度的水醋酸、水甲醇混合液体,讨论了混合液体浓度与介电常数对二维光子晶体禁带宽度的影响。模拟结果表明,在温度保持不变的情况下,浓度在0～0.60mol/kg之间变化时二维光子晶体TE模没出现光子晶体禁带而TM模出现的光子晶体禁带宽度随着混合液体浓度和介电常数的增大而逐渐变窄且向高频区域移动。这一结果为生物化学中混合液体浓度的检测方面提供很好的参考依据。     

Photonic crystal electro-optical switching cell

We investigated the physical mechanism of a photonic crystal (PhC) switching cell based on an optical directional coupler (ODC). This ODC is driven by a low power external electrical command signal, inserted in the central coupling region, which causes the changes in the refractive index.The switching process is based on the change of the bar state to the cross state owing to the external command signal. In our simulations we used the following methods: Plane Wave Expansion by MPB (MIT Photonic-Bands), Finite-Difference Time-Domain by MEEP (MIT Electromagnetic Equation Propagation), Finite Element by COMSOL Multiphysics and our own Binary Propagation Method.