Design of a high efficiency wide-band 60° bend for TE polarization

In this paper, a high-efficiency 60° photonic crystal (PC) bend geometry is proposed. The corresponding PC is a two-dimensional triangular lattice of air holes in a dielectric slab. In the proposed bend structure, five additional holes are introduced in the bend. The radii of these holes are changed gradually. Hence the effect of bend discontinuity is decreased and consequently, a wide-band high efficiency bend is obtained. In this structure, the frequency bandwidth for which the transmission coefficient is greater than 0.9 covers 84% of the single-mode bandwidth of the waveguide, while for the best geometry reported in the literature this value does not exceed 56%. For numerical analysis of waveguide bends, the slab PC structure is first replaced by a two-dimensional (2D) PC with an effective refractive index and then, a 2D FDTD method is used to obtain the transmission coefficient of the bend.     

Dispersionless slow light by photonic crystal slab waveguide with innermost elliptical air holes

We report a low-loss photonic crystal slab waveguide formed by deforming the innermost circle air holes in the conventional photonic crystal slab waveguide into elliptical ones. We obtain the photonic bands and group index of guided modes in this photonic crystal waveguide by guided-mode expansion method and investigate the dependence of photonic bands and group index of guided modes on the parameters of the innermost elliptical air holes. The group velocity and group velocity dispersion of this waveguide strongly depend on the innermost elliptical air holes. Photonic crystal slab waveguide with the optimum innermost elliptical air holes possesses a wider single mode region below the light line, in which light can easily propagate without intrinsic loss. At the same time, the guided mode supported by this waveguide has nearly constant group velocity and vanishing group velocity dispersion in a 3-5 nm bandwidth.     

一种新型无色散慢光光子晶体薄板波导

利用椭圆形孔替代传统光子晶体薄板波导中邻接波导的最内层两排圆孔构成一种新型低损耗光子晶体薄板光波导.该波导的群速度和群速度色散特性强烈依赖于波导中这两排邻接波导的椭圆孔的特性.借助波导导模展开方法,计算得到波导的能带结构和群指数,并分析了它们与椭圆孔的参数关系.通过优化这些椭圆孔的参数,可以增加光子晶体光波导导模在光锥以下的无固有传输损耗带宽,在2—45 nm 的带宽上实现无色散的常数群速度.这些理论结果将为低损耗低色散慢光波导的设计制造提供理论基础. 关键词： 光子晶体薄板波导 群速度 群指数 群速度色散     

Defect modes in photonic crystal slabs studied using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

We describe broadband coherent transmission studies of two-dimensional photonic crystals consisting of a hexagonal array of air holes in a dielectric slab in a planar waveguide. By filling several of the air holes in the photonic crystal slab, we observe the signature of a defect mode within the stop band, in both the amplitude and phase spectra. The experimental results are in reasonable agreement with theoretical calculations using the transfer matrix method.     

Diffractionless optical networking in an inverse opal photonic band gap micro-chip

We present a design for a photonic crystal (PC) all-optical micro-chip based on a three-dimensional (3D) inverse opal heterostructure intercalated with a two-dimensional (2D) triangular lattice photonic crystal slab. Within the 2D micro-chip layer, we demonstrate single-mode (diffractionless) waveguiding of light in air, throughout a bandwidth of more than 70 nm near 1.55 μm. This suggests that inverse opal photonic band gap (PBG) materials can facilitate on-chip optical networking functions over the telecommunication frequency band used in current-day optical fibers.     

Observation of surface states in a truncated photonic crystal slab

The effect of lattice termination on the surface states in a two-dimensional truncated photonic crystal slab is experimentally studied in a high-index-contrast silicon-on-insulator system. A single-mode silicon strip waveguide that is separated from the photonic crystal by a trench of variable width is used to evanescently couple to surface states in the surrounding lattice. It is demonstrated that the dispersion of the surface states depends strongly on the specific termination of the lattice.     

Photonic crystal slow light waveguides with large delay–bandwidth product

In this paper, we propose the use of two two-dimensional photonic crystal line defect waveguides for slow light with large delay–bandwidth product (DBP). One includes air rings localized at each side of the line defect and the other modifies the radius and distance of holes at each side of the waveguide. We show that we can achieve a very flat band corresponding to nearly constant group index over a broad frequency range by adjusting the parameters of the structure. We show further that the group velocity dispersion (GVD) can reach a relatively small amount and the DBP can be more than 0.6 for the first waveguide and 0.34 for the second waveguide. Numerical simulation by the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method demonstrates the propagation of the broadband pulse.     

Design and analysis of a wideband photonic crystal waveguide with low group-velocity and low dispersion

The slow light propagation in a line waveguide in the two-dimensional triangular photonic crystal has been numerically studied, based on which a wideband photonic crystal waveguide with low group-velocity and low dispersion is proposed. The numerical simulation analysis shows that it is possible to maximize the group index and minimize the group-velocity dispersion in wide bandwidth by increasing the radius of the basic air hole and changing the position of the first two rows of air holes in photonic crysta...     

Adiabatic coupling between conventional dielectric waveguides and waveguides with discrete translational symmetry

We study adiabatic transformation in optical waveguides with discrete translational symmetry. We calculate the reflection and transmission coefficient for a structure consisting of a slab waveguide that is adiabatically transformed into a photonic crystal waveguide and then back into a slab waveguide. The calculation yields high transmission over a wide frequency range of the photonic crystal waveguide band and indicates efficient coupling between the slab waveguide and the photonic crystal waveguide. Other applications of adiabatic mode transformation in photonic crystal waveguides and the coupled-resonator optical waveguides are also discussed.     

Design of wideband and low group velocity based on coupled cavity waveguides

A method is proposed to design wideband and low group velocity in coupled cavity waveguide (CCW). By tuning the position of the defect row, the first and second rows adjacent to the defect row in the photonic crystal, the guided band is tailored. As a result, the group velocity can be decreased, with a relatively broad bandwidth of the guided band. The effects of three parameters on the group velocity of the crystal are analyzed in detail, using 2D plane wave expansion method. We numerically demonstrate that the group velocity of 0.0096c with 3.0 nm bandwidth of the guided band can be obtained in the model. Viewed from an actual standpoint, this tuning position method has its advantage in fabricating than the method of controlling the diameters of rods or holes.     

光子晶体缺陷结构的特性

基于平面波展开法,设计了二维正方晶格和三角晶格光子晶体缺陷结构,数值模拟了TE模、TM模式的光子晶体禁带特性,计算了二维三角晶格光子晶体缺陷结构的模式分布。结果表明,光子晶体缺陷结构能够形成很好的禁带特性和模式结构,研究结论为光子晶体波导器件的开发提供参考。     

Nonlinear performance in silicon nitride slow light photonic crystal waveguides with elliptical holes

We propose a slow-light photonic crystal waveguide, which uses a combination of circular and elliptical air holes arranged in a hexagonal lattice with the background material of silicon nitride (refractive index n = 2.06). Large value of normalized delay bandwidth product (NDBP = 0.3708) is obtained. We have analyzed nonlinear performance of the structure. With our proposed geometry strong SPM is observed at moderate peak power levels. Proposed photonic crystal waveguide has slow light applications such as reduction in length and power consumption of all-optical and electro-optic switches at optical frequency.     

Diatoms as living photonic crystals

We present an analysis of the optical structure of a representative diatom, Coscinodiscus granii. The silica cell wall can be regarded as a photonic crystal slab waveguide with moderate refractive-index contrast. In a cell, at least two different patterns are found: a hexagonal array of pores with a large lattice constant in the valve, and a square array of holes with a small lattice constant in the girdle. It is demonstrated that light can be coupled into the waveguide and that there are some photonic resonances in the visible spectral range, which have been determined by band-structure calculations. PACS 42.70.Qs; 87.17.-d     

Tuning of full band gap in anisotropic photonic crystal slabs using a liquid crystal

We analyze the tunability of full band gap in photonic crystal slabs created by square and triangular lattices of air holes in anisotropic tellurium background, considering that the regions above and below the slab are occupied by SiO₂ and the holes are infiltrated with liquid crystals. Using the supercell method based on plane wave expansion, we study the variation of full band gap by changing the optical axis orientation of liquid crystal. Our results demonstrate the existence and remarkable tunability of full band gap in both square and triangular lattices, largest band gap and tunability being obtained for the triangular lattice.     

Slight disorder effects in two dimensional photonic crystal structures

In the actual manufacturing process of photonic crystal structure, unavoidable error can generate slight disorder which may influence the performance of photonic crystal based device. In this work, randomly distributional disorders are applied to the air holes in the photonic crystal structure. Based on this, we investigate the influence of the slight disorder on the photonic crystal band structure and the performance of photonic crystal based devices (waveguide and slab cavity). The studies indicate that the slight disorder provides small influence on the band structure of the photonic crystal. But, the random disorder in photonic crystal waveguide may increase transmission loss obviously when the wavelength of the light and the distribution of disorder break the balance of multiple interferences. Also, the slight disorder can reduce the Q factor of the photonic crystal cavity at a certain degree. The studies may provide some useful guides for further photonic crystal device research.     

Broadband waveguide intersections with low cross talk in photonic crystal circuits

We propose a new mechanism for constructing waveguide intersections with broad bandwidth and low cross talk in photonic crystal (PC) circuits. The intersections are created by combination of coupled-cavity wave-guides (CCWs) with conventional line-defect waveguides. This mechanism utilizes the strong dependence of the defect coupling on the field pattern in the defects and the alignment of the defects (i.e., the coupling angle) in CCWs. By properly designing the defect mode, we demonstrate through numerical simulation the establishment of such a waveguide intersection in one of the most useful PCs, which is based on a two-dimensional triangular lattice of air holes made in a dielectric material. The transmission of a 500-fs pulse at ~1.3 microm is simulated by use of the finite-difference time-domain method, showing negligible distortion and low cross talk.     

Single-mode transmission in two-dimensional macroporous silicon photonic crystal waveguides

We report the infrared operation of a two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguide fabricated in silicon. Measurements of the transmission spectrum reveal a large transmission bandwidth within the 3.1-5.5-mum bulk-crystal photonic bandgap and a rich resonance structure. The calculated transmission spectrum for this structure is in good agreement with the measured spectrum and predicts a 10% single-mode bandwidth for the waveguide.     

Anomalous modal structure in a waveguide with a photonic crystal core

We analyze a dielectric waveguide with a photonic crystal core. Using constant frequency contour analysis, we show that the modal behavior of this structure is drastically different from that of a conventional slab waveguide. In particular, at a given frequency the lowest-order guided mode can have an odd symmetry or can have more than one nodal plane in its field distribution. Also, there exist several single-mode regions with a different modal profile in each region. Finally, a single-mode waveguide for the fundamental mode with a large core and strong confinement can be realized. All these behaviors are confirmed by our three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain simulations.     

液晶调制的光子晶体可控偏光片和光开关

与介质柱型光子晶体相比，空气孔光子晶体更易于制作和集成而更有应用价值.采用平面波展开法证实了填充液晶的二维三角形分布的空气孔光子晶体方向能隙的可调节性.数值模拟结果表明：1)通过外界电场控制空气孔中所填充的相列液晶的方向可以对光子晶体的方向能隙进行调节，这种可调节性可用于制作场敏偏光片.这与Liu等人研究介质柱型光子晶体的结论相类似；2)用phenylacetylene型液晶替代5CB液晶作为填充物质所得到的空气孔光子晶体偏光片可使用的频率范围显著增大.在此基础上，还研究了填充液晶的光子晶体波导传输谱线的可调节性对特定波长的光切断和开通控制的原理，实现了与以往光开关原理不同的光子晶体光开关. 关键词： 光子晶体 液晶 可调节性 平面波展开法 场敏偏光片     

Optical interleaver based on directional coupler in a 2D photonic crystal slab with triangular lattice of air holes

A small-size optical interleaver based on directional coupler in a 2D photonic crystal slab with triangular lattice of air holes is designed and theoretically simulated using plane wave expansion and finite-difference time-domain method. The interleaver is formed by two parallel and identical photonic crystal slab waveguides which are separated by three rows of air holes. The coupling region is designed below the light line to avoid vertical radiation. The simulated results show that the coupling coefficient is increased and the final length of the interleaver is decreased by enlarging the radius of the middle row of air holes. The transmission properties are analyzed after the interleaver’s structure is optimized, and around 100 GHz channel spacing can be got when the length of the interleaver is chosen as 40.5 μm.