Efficient transmission in cascaded photonic crystal waveguides via a strong coupling effect

A design of cascaded photonic crystal waveguide is proposed in this paper inspired by the work of Tang et al. [D. Tang, L. Chen, W. Ding, Appl. Phys. Lett. 89 (2006) 131120]. In contrast to a conventional waveguide source, a plane wave source is applied in the current design. We show that an efficient guide mode in the photonic band gap can be achieved. The same idea also works for a slight variation by defects introduction in the photonic crystal. Finally, the strong coupling effect present in the cascaded waveguides is demonstrated by an analogy with photonic quantum wells.     

Special control of the cutoff frequencies in a 2D photonic crystal coupled-cavity waveguide

We show theoretically that the upper and lower cutoff frequencies of the guided band in a 2D photonic crystal coupled-cavity waveguide can be controlled independently or synchronously by changing two configuration parameters of the waveguide simultaneously. The independent control range for the lower and upper cutoff frequencies can be as large as 68.6% and 67.9% of photonic band gap, respectively. The two cutoff frequencies can also be tuned in the same direction over equal distances up to 25.7% of photonic band gap. These results offer an efficient way for designing the various dispersion relations for photonic crystal waveguides.     

点缺陷二维光子晶体波导的出射光集束

光子晶体器件在高密度集成光通信中有广泛的应用,为解决光子晶体波导出射光场的空间控制,采用时域有限差分法分析光子晶体波导结构的缺陷传播特性,提出基于点缺陷优化波导结构,通过在波导出射口两侧加上点缺陷,出射光方向性有显著提高,实现三点光源干涉系统的光集束。模拟结果表明缺陷态越靠近能带结构中央,共振腔的耦合效率越高;相反,缺陷态越靠近能带结构边缘位置,则共振腔耦合效率越低,因此,选取禁带区域四分之一处对应的点缺陷,可以有效实现波导出射的光集束。     

Anomalous propagation loss in photonic crystal waveguides

Propagation loss can occur in photonic crystal waveguides without complete optical confinement. We employ a highly efficient transfer-matrix method which allows for accurate and reliable extraction of the propagation loss even at an extremely low level. The results for a two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguide shows that the loss exponentially decays via the waveguide wall thickness. An anomalous phenomenon is found where the loss for guided modes near the upper band gap edge can be several orders of magnitude smaller than that for modes in the middle of the band gap. This anomaly can be well explained by the localization degree of guided modes at different frequency domains.     

高效光子晶体太赫兹滤波器的设计

提出了一种新型光子晶体太赫兹(THz)滤波器,该滤波器包括利用线缺陷实现的波导部分和利用微腔实现的频率选择部分.应用平面波法(PWM)分析其带隙结构,然后应用时域有限差分法(FDTD),研究THz波在此滤波器中的传输特性,结果表明,通过改变点缺陷的结构和增大某些介质柱的半径,可以使该滤波器实现高耦合效率的单信道单频率滤波. 关键词： 光子晶体 THz波 平面波法 时域有限差分法     

Enhanced photonic band-gap confinement via Van Hove saddle point singularities

We show that a saddle point Van Hove singularity in a band adjacent to a photonic crystal band gap can lead to situations which defy the conventional wisdom that the strongest band-gap confinement is found at frequencies near the midgap. As an example, we present a two-dimensional square photonic crystal waveguide where the strongest confinement is close to the band edge. The underlying mechanism can also apply to any system that is described by a band structure with a gap. In general, the saddle point favors the appearance of a very flat band, which in turn results in an enhanced confinement at band-gap frequencies immediately above or below the flat band.     

Applications of the finite difference mode solution method to photonic crystal structures

The finite difference waveguide mode solution method, which has been popularly employed in the study of waveguide modes on various optical and dielectric waveguides, is utilized to calculate the modal characteristics of photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) and planar photonic crystal waveguides and the band diagrams of two-dimensional photonic crystals. Vector guided modes on both PCFs based on the total internal reflection guiding mechanism ('holey fibers') and those resulting from photonic band gap effect are accurately computed, with their effective indexes and field distributions compared with other methods. Calculated dispersion of a single-core holey fiber and coupled-power behavior of a two-core holey fiber are found to agree with measured results. For applications to band diagram calculation and planar photonic crystal waveguide analysis, the finite difference scheme is modified simply by imposing suitable periodic boundary condition. Numerical results for air-column crystals and dielectric-rod crystals are both found to agree well with calculations using other methods.     

Fabrication and measurement of optical characterization of one dimensional photonic crystal with defect

Numerical calculations based on the transfer matrix method are carried out, and the results of band gap with resonance peaks are obtained. The electron beam lithography technology （EBL） and induction coupling plasma （ICP） etching are used to make the photonic crystal （PC） structures, and from several scanning electron microscope images, the PC structures are observed with features closing to the design. In order to create the tiny PC structures in the right places of the waveguide by the EBL technology at different time, some alignment markers are deposited on the chip, which are made of gold that deposited on titanium for its good adhesion to the underlying Si. An optical testing bed is designed for measurement of the optical characterization of PC structures. Through the analysis of the measured data, a △λ value of 0.8 nm is obtained and for the centre frequency of 1547 nm, a very high quality factor value of 1933 can be obtained. The 3-rim difference represents only a 0.2% error from the theoretical centre.     

Analysis of ultra-small photonic large scale integrated circuits

A detailed study of a platform of ultra-small photonic large-scale integrated circuits was conducted. Bandgap structure calculations of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) based photonic crystals have been investigated. The photonic crystal consists of dielectric cylinders in air. Using the band structure calculations we obtained design parameters for the proposed structures. The coupling between the photonic crystal and a waveguide fabricated from SOI system has been analysed. It is shown that the optical coupling is improved by interfacing different types of spot-size converters (SSCs) between the SOI waveguide and the photonic crystal. Also, the possibility and limitations of silicon doped germanium and SOI photonic crystals to analyse the light guiding in the third dimension is discussed.     

Experimental evidence of photonic crystal waveguides with wide bandwidth in two-dimensional Al_2O_3 rods array

A cross-shaped photonic crystal waveguide formed by a square lattice Al_2O_3 rods array is numerically and experimentally investigated. The band gap of the TE mode for the photonic crystals and transmission characteristics of waveguides are calculated by the plane wave expansion method and the finite element method.We perform the experiments in the microwave regime to validate the numerical results. The measured reflection and transmission characteristics of the photonic crystals show a large band gap between 8.62 and 11.554 GHz(relative bandwidth is 29.34%). The electromagnetic waves are transmitted stably in the waveguides, and the transmission characteristics maintain a high level in the band gap.     

Wavelength-drop properties of L-type defects in photonic bandgap structure for the terahertz regime

Using the finite difference time domain method, the electromagnetic field distribution of terahertz waves are simulated in photonic band gap structures with different single-defect, line-shaped defects and L-type defects composed of three single-defects. Introducing the photonic band gap structure with difference coordinates single-defects, the resonance frequency and amplitude of the single-defect along the vertical direction of line-shaped defects waveguide have more sensitive than the parallel direction. Introducing the photonic band gap structure with line-shaped defects composed of three defects, the resonant in the endpoint of line-shaped defects have high amplitude and in the middle of line-shaped defects have two resonant frequencies. Introducing the photonic band gap structure with L-type defects composed of three defects, three high-Q resonant frequencies appeared simultaneously in the some monitor coordinates.     

Optical confinement of spatial frequencies in the photonic crystal waveguide

The optical confinement of spatial frequencies in the photonic crystal waveguide has been investigated theoretically and simulated numerically. It is found that the enhanced gap confinement is at frequency close to the upper band edge, in contrary to the conventional concept that the strongest optical confinement is found at frequencies near the mid-gap. The anomalous phenomenon may be attributed to a Van Hove saddle point singularity in a band adjacent to a photonic crystal band gap. In general, the saddle point favors the appearance of a very flat band, which in turn causes an enhanced confinement at band-gap frequencies.     

Characteristics of photonic bands generated by quadrangular multiconnected networks

In this paper, by means of the network equation and generalized dimensionless Floquet-Bloch theorem, we study the influences of the number of connected waveguide segments （NCWS） between adjacent nodes and the matching ratio of waveguide length （MRWL） on the photonic bands generated by quadrangular multiconnected networks （QMNs）, and obtain a series of formulae. It is found that multicombining networks （MCNs） and repetitive combining networks （RCNs） are equivalent to each other and they can all be simplified into the simplest fundamental combining systems. It would be useful for adjusting the number, widths, and positions of photonic bands, and would possess potential applications for the designing of all-optical devices and photonic network devices.     

Novel spatial solitons in light-induced photonic bandgap structures

The study of wave propagation in periodic systems is at the frontiers of physics, from fluids to condensed matter physics, and from photonic crystals to Bose-Einstein condensates. In optics, a typical example of periodic system is a closely-spaced waveguide array, in which collective behavior of wave propagation exhibits many intriguing phenomena that have no counterpart in homogeneous media. Even in a linear waveguide array, the diffraction property of a light beam changes due to evanescent coupling between nearby waveguide sites, leading to normal and anomalous discrete diffraction. In a nonlinear waveguide array, a balance between diffraction and self-action gives rise to novel localized states such as spatial “discrete solitons” in the semi-infinite (or total-internal-reflection) gap or spatial “gap solitons” in the Bragg reflection gaps. Recently, in a series of experiments, we have “fabricated” closely-spaced waveguide arrays (photonic lattices) by optical induction. Such photonic structures have attracted great interest due to their novel physics, link to photonic crystals, as well as potential applications in optical switching and navigation. In this review article, we present a brief overview on our experimental demonstrations of a number of novel spatial soliton phenomena in light-induced photonic bandgap structures, including self-trapping of fundamental discrete solitons and more sophisticated lattice gap solitons. Much of our work has direct impact on the study of similar discrete phenomena in systems beyond optics, including sound waves, water waves, and matter waves (Bose-Einstein condensates) propagating in periodic potentials.     

Novel spatial solitons in light-induced photonic bandgap structures

The study of wave propagation in periodic systems is at the frontiers of physics, from fluids to condensed matter physics, and from photonic crystals to Bose-Einstein condensates. In optics, a typical example of periodic system is a closely-spaced waveguide array, in which collective behavior of wave propagation exhibits many intriguing phenomena that have no counterpart in homogeneous media. Even in a linear waveguide array, the diffraction property of a light beam changes due to evanescent coupling between nearby waveguide sites, leading to normal and anomalous discrete diffraction. In a nonlinear waveguide array, a balance between diffraction and self-action gives rise to novel localized states such as spatial “discrete solitons” in the semi-infinite (or total-internal-reflection) gap or spatial “gap solitons” in the Bragg reflection gaps. Recently, in a series of experiments, we have “fabricated” closely-spaced waveguide arrays (photonic lattices) by optical induction. Such photonic structures have attracted great interest due to their novel physics, link to photonic crystals, as well as potential applications in optical switching and navigation. In this review article, we present a brief overview on our experimental demonstrations of a number of novel spatial soliton phenomena in light-induced photonic bandgap structures, including self-trapping of fundamental discrete solitons and more sophisticated lattice gap solitons. Much of our work has direct impact on the study of similar discrete phenomena in systems beyond optics, including sound waves, water waves, and matter waves (Bose-Einstein condensates) propagating in periodic potentials.      

Photonic bands, gap maps, and intrinsic losses in three-component 2D photonic crystal slabs

We obtain the photonic bands and intrinsic losses for the triangular lattice three-component two- dimensional （2D） photonic crystal （PhC） slabs by expanding the electromagnetic field on the basis of waveguide modes of an effective homogeneous waveguide. The introduction of the third component into the 2D PhC slabs influences the photonic band structure and the intrinsic losses of the system. We examine the dependences of the band gap width and gap edge position on the interlayer dielectric constant and interlayer thickness. It is found that the gap edges shift to lower frequencies and the intrinsic losses of each band decrease with the increasing interlayer thickness or dielectric constant. During the design of the real PhC system, the effect of unintentional native oxide surface layer on the optical properties of 2D PhC slabs has to be taken into consideration. At the same time, intentional oxidization of macroporous PhC structure can be utilized to optimize the design.     

Waveguide circuits in three-dimensional photonic crystals

Waveguide circuits in three-dimensional photonic crystals with complete photonic band gaps are simulated with finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations, and compared with measurements on microwave scale photonic crystals. The transmission through waveguide bends critically depends on the photonic crystal architecture in the bend region. We have found experimentally and theoretically, a new waveguide bend configuration consisting of overlapping rods in the bend region, that performs better than the simple waveguide bend of terminated rods, especially in the higher frequency portion of the band. Efficient beam splitters with this junction geometry are also simulated.     

Hypersonic modulation of light in three-dimensional photonic and phononic band-gap materials

The elastic coupling between the a-SiO2 spheres composing opal films brings forth three-dimensional periodic structures which besides a photonic stop band are predicted to also exhibit complete phononic band gaps. The influence of elastic crystal vibrations on the photonic band structure has been studied by injection of coherent hypersonic wave packets generated in a metal transducer by subpicosecond laser pulses. These studies show that light with energies close to the photonic band gap can be efficiently modulated by hypersonic waves.     

Tetragonal photonic woodpile structures

The photonic properties of dielectric woodpile structures with face-centered-tetragonal (fct) and body-centered-tetragonal (bct) lattice symmetries are theoretically studied. Computational calculation of the photonic band structure reveals a photonic band gap between the second and third photonic band in both symmetries. A complete photonic band gap is not found in the bct structure due to a band gap shift with variable direction of lightflow. When the degree of layer disorder in fct woodpiles is increased, the stop bands slightly narrow and the attenuation of the optical transmission is reduced. Even so, layer-to-layer misalignment in dielectric woodpile structures may be tolerable up to 20–30% in most applications. The complete photonic band gap in fct woodpiles remains open with planar layer-to-layer disorder up to 60–70%.     

Exciton polaritons of nano-spherical-particle photonic crystals in compound lattices

Nonlocal investigations are presented for exciton-photon coupling in three-dimensional nano-spherical-particle photonic crystals in compound lattices for a tailored dielectric environment to optimize the optical properties of nano particles. The photonic band structure can be modified by tuning the nano particle size and the distance between two interlacing identical face-centered sub-lattices making up the photonic crystal lattice. A complete photonic band gap with a gap-midgap ratio as large as 40.82% has been found in the wurzite structure under the current investigation.