Effect of dimensionality on the spectra of hybrid plasmonic-photonic crystals

Based on colloidal crystals of various dimensionality, hybrid metal-dielectric plasmonic-photonic heterocrystals have been prepared. It has been shown that the spectra of optical transmission of heterocrystals are mostly controlled by the sum of contributions of composing plasmonic and photonic crystals. At the same time, there are a number of phenomena caused by the mutual effect of heterostructure components, which lead to a deviation of observed optical properties from the linear superposition of responses of these crystals. In particular, it has been found that the anomalous transmission controlled by the plasmonic crystal decreases with increasing the dimensionality of the photonic crystal attached to it. At the same time, light reflection on a metallized surface changes light diffraction in photonic crystals and leads to Fabry-Perot oscillation amplification. It has been assumed that an intermediate layer is formed, in which Bloch modes of the photonic crystal and surface plasmon-polaritons of the plasmonic crystal are hybridized.     

一维光子晶体光谱控制实验研究

光子晶体的禁带特性为伪装材料的光谱控制研究提供了一条新的技术途径。利用传输矩阵的方法建立了一维光子晶体光谱透射、反射的理论模型,针对伪装材料近红外高反射、中远红外低发射的要求,优选Ag,MgF2和ZnS等材料作为光子晶体的薄膜材料,采用真空蒸发镀膜的方法制备出Ag/MgF2,Ag/MgF2/ZnS 4种不同周期结构的一维光子晶体,并实验研究了一维光子晶体的光谱反射和透过特性。结果表明:材料和周期结构对一维光子晶体光谱特性有不同的影响,通过优化设计可以实现在伪装波段内的光谱特性要求。     

一维光子晶体禁带的展宽

作为一维光子晶体的应用基础，一维光子晶体的禁带是研究的重点。通过传输矩阵的方法分析了一维光子晶体禁带的特性，讨论了影响带宽的因素。说明了相对带宽对光子晶体设计的重要性。在这个基础上讨论了扩展一维光子晶体带宽的方法，提出了在角域范围内对光子晶体进行叠加的方法，为设计制造一维光子晶体提供了一种行之有效的方法。分别对2个、3个和4个晶体的叠加进行了分析，最后计算了所设计的合成晶体的反射率。其中4个晶体的叠加，相对带宽达到57．52％，极大地展宽了一维光子晶体的禁带，从而证明利用角域的叠加来展宽一维光子晶体的禁带是非常有效的。     

表层厚度渐变一维耦合腔光子晶体的反射相位特性及其应用

利用传输矩阵法研究了表层厚度渐变的一维非对称耦合腔光子晶体的反射相位特性. 研究表明, 光子禁带内(包括缺陷模附近)的反射率在98%以上, 且基本不受表层厚度影响, 特别是, 在非正入射情况下, 简并的缺陷模随着表层厚度的变化会发生分裂; 进一步研究发现, 在缺陷模分裂处附近, TE, TM偏振的反射相位以及它们之间的相位差均敏感地依赖于表层厚度的变化, 从而使得反射光的偏振态也随表层厚度的变化而敏感变化, 其物理机理在于缺陷模分裂所造成的剧烈相位变化. 基于上述特性, 设计了一种表层厚度呈二维周期变化的一维光子晶体结构, 从该结构反射的激光经透镜聚焦后, 在聚焦区域同时存在各种偏振态(包括沿不同方向的线偏振、左旋或右旋圆偏振、椭圆偏振等)的子光束, 它们叠加后在聚焦区域将产生具有无规相位和无规偏振态的光场. 以上结果能有效降低激光的相干性, 在激光核聚变等领域有潜在的应用价值.     

外磁场作用下一维光子晶体的光传输特性

采用光学传输矩阵方法,研究了外磁场作用下一维光子晶体的光传输特性.在外磁场作用下,介质介电函数在回旋频率ω.附近受到强烈的调制,使组分材料的色散关系发生明显改变,导致光子晶体的能带发生变化,透射谱出现复杂结构.在光子带隙中出现窄通带,窄带中的光是局域的.这表明,在不改变光子晶体组分材料的条件下,可以通过改变外磁场的大小,调制光子晶体的能带及其光传输性质.     

Spectral characteristics of transmission and reflection of photonic-crystal layers containing active dielectric and nanoscale metallic rods

The optical properties of artificial two-dimensional photonic crystals containing various components are studied theoretically and using numerical modeling. The main optical characteristics, such as spectra of transmission and reflection, allowing evaluation of gain properties of a photonic crystal made of neodymium-doped glass, are studied in detail. It is shown that the threshold conditions for oscillation in the studied structures can be achieved via proper choice of their optical characteristics, which allows one to formulate the technical specifications for their manufacturing. Spectral characteristics of photonic crystals containing nanoscale silver rods embedded in a dielectric matrix are studied. Their prospective use as optical filters and polarizers is substantiated. The investigation is conducted using the method of field expansion in terms of plane waves.     

Omni-directional reflection bands in one-dimensional plasma dielectric photonic crystals

In this paper the omni-directional reflection bands in one-dimensional plasma photonic crystal (PPC) have been studied theoretically. We present the study of plasma photonic crystal, having alternate regions of plasma?dielectric (Al₂O₃ or ZnS). Reflectances from this periodic multilayered structure in TE- and TM-modes are calculated for different angles of incidence in microwave region for omni-directional reflection bands. The reflectance is obtained by solving a Maxwell's equation using a translational matrix method. In addition to this, we have also studied the effect of variation of plasma width as well as plasma density on the reflection properties of plasma dielectric photonic crystal in TE- and TM-modes. The study of reflectance bands of such plasma photonic crystals shows that it can be used as omni-directional reflector.     

FINITE-DIFFERENCE TIME-DOMAIN ANALYSIS OF UNMAGNETIZED PLASMA PHOTONIC CRYSTALS

The plasma photonic crystal is a periodic array composed of alternating thin unmagnetized (or magnetized) plasmas and dielectric materials (or vacuum). In this paper, the piecewise linear current density recursive convolution finite-difference time-domain method for the simulation of isotropic unmagnetized plasma is applied to model unmagnetized plasma photonic crystal structures. A perfectly matched layer absorbing material is used in these simulations. In time-domain, the electromagnetic propagation process of a Gaussian pulse through an unmagnetized plasma photonic crystal is investigated. In frequency-domain, the reflection and transmission coefficients through unmagnetized plasma photonic crystals are computed and their dependence on plasma frequency, plasma thickness, collision frequency is studied. The results show theoretically that the electromagnetic bandgaps of unmagnetized plasma photonic crystals are tuned by the plasma parameters.     

Two-dimensional photonic crystals with a lattice defect: Spectrum of defect modes, localization of light, and formation of evanescent waves

Properties of an electromagnetic field localized in the defect modes of two-dimensional photonic crystals are studied. The defect-mode spectrum of these structures is calculated, electromagnetic field localization and channeling effects are analyzed, and the properties of the field inside and beyond a photonic crystal with a lattice defect are also studied. The calculations show that the electromagnetic field is localized in the defect mode of a photonic crystal in a region smaller than the wavelength. The dependence of the defect-mode spectrum on the parameters of the photonic crystal is investigated and possibilities for controlling the spectrum of defect modes are indicated. It is shown that the optical field leaving a photonic crystal possesses the properties of a evanescent wave, which means that spatial resolution substantially greater than the wavelength of the radiation can be achieved in the near field and opens up possibilities for using photonic crystals with a lattice defect in near-field optical microscopy. The possibility of externally controlling an optical field localized in the defect modes of a photonic crystals is demonstrated.     

Optical properties of chiral photonic crystals with an anisotropic defect layer

Properties of defect modes in chiral photonic crystals with an anisotropic defect are considered. The influence of the defect layer thickness, its location in the crystal and orientation of its optical axis, as well as of the chiral photonic crystal thickness on the properties of defect modes is studied. It is shown that at certain values of the defect layer thickness the medium loses its main property, namely, the polarization dependence of the diffraction reflection. At certain thicknesses of the defect layer this system transforms from the source of the right circular polarization into the source of the left circular polarization, if the layer position in the chiral photonic crystal changes.     

可见光波段SiO2/CdSe一维光子晶体及缺陷模的研究究

采用SiO2/CdSe构建了可见光波段一维光子晶体结构,并在其中引入LiTaO3缺陷层。利用传输矩阵法,分析了电磁波在无缺陷与含LiTaO3缺陷层两种光子晶体中的带隙结构,系统地研究了缺陷层参数对光子晶体可见光波段带隙结构的影响规律。计算结果表明：LiTaO3的引入,有利于带隙宽度的增加,调整缺陷层结构参数,缺陷模的位置可在不同颜色区域出现,如红光、黄光等缺陷模。该结构有望用于制作可见光波段的滤波器。     

Si-based two-dimensional photonic crystals coupled to one-dimensional Bragg mirrors

Planar two-dimensional photonic crystals can be combined with a one-dimensional Bragg mirror to control the quality factor and out-of-plane coupling of optical Bloch modes. We have investigated the optical properties of such structures fabricated on silicon. The photonic crystals are fabricated in the upper Si layer deposited on top of quarter-wave thick SiO₂-polycrystalline Si layers. The optical properties are probed by the room-temperature photoluminescence of Ge/Si self-assembled islands as an internal source. We show that an enhancement of the quality factor can be obtained by controlling the thickness of the silicon upper layer in which the two-dimensional photonic crystal is etched and by controlling the air filling factor of the photonic crystal. Quality factors of 2200 around 1100 nm are obtained by this method for defect-free photonic crystals with a square lattice pattern. The experimental results are supported by three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) calculations of the radiated modes for the investigated structures.     

Optical Anisotropy of Photonic Crystals of Cubic Symmetry Induced by Multiple Diffraction of Light

The optical spectra of Bragg reflection from opal-like photonic crystals under conditions of the resonant enhancement of the multiple diffraction of light have been studied experimentally and theoretically using the photonic crystal structures prepared of monodisperse polystyrene globules. It is shown that the reflection signal registered in mutually orthogonal configurations of the polarizer and analyzer is related to the intrinsic optical anisotropy of the crystals and is a specific manifestation of the multiple Bragg diffraction in three-dimensional photonic crystals.     

Tunable photonic crystal circuits: concepts and designs based on single-pore infiltration

We demonstrate that the infiltration of individual pores of certain two-dimensional photonic crystals with liquid crystals and (or) polymers provides an efficient platform for the realization of integrated photonic crystal circuitry. As an illustration of this principle, we present designs for monomode photonic crystal wave-guides and certain functional elements, such as waveguide bends, beam splitters, and waveguide intersections. These devices exhibit very low reflection over broad frequency ranges. In addition, we discuss the inherent tunability of these devices that originates in the tunability of the infiltrated material.     

Slow light in photonic crystals

The problem of slowing down light by orders of magnitude has been extensively discussed in the literature. Such a possibility can be useful in a variety of optical and microwave applications. Many qualitatively different approaches have been explored. Here we discuss how this goal can be achieved in linear dispersive media, such as photonic crystals. The existence of slowly propagating electromagnetic waves in photonic crystals is quite obvious and well known. The main problem, though, has been how to convert the input radiation into the slow mode without losing a significant portion of the incident light energy to absorption, reflection, etc. We show that the so-called frozen mode regime offers a unique solution to the above problem. Under the frozen mode regime, the incident light enters the photonic crystal with little reflection and, subsequently, is completely converted into the frozen mode with huge amplitude and almost zero group velocity. The linearity of the above effect allows the slowing of light regardless of its intensity. An additional advantage of photonic crystals over other methods of slowing down light is that photonic crystals can preserve both time and space coherence of the input electromagnetic wave.     

Beaming of light and enhanced transmission via surface modes of photonic crystals

We report beaming and enhanced transmission of electromagnetic waves by use of surface corrugated photonic crystals. The modes of a finite-size photonic crystal composed of dielectric rods in free space have been analyzed by the plane-wave expansion method. We show the existence of surface propagating modes when the surface of the finite-size photonic crystal is corrugated. We theoretically and experimentally demonstrate that the transmission through photonic crystal waveguides can be substantially increased by the existence of surface propagating modes at the input surface. In addition, the power emitted from the photonic crystal waveguide is confined to a narrow angular region when an appropriate surface corrugation is added to the output surface of the photonic crystal.     

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.     

Nonreciprocal photonic band structure of low-symmetry magnetic photonic crystals

We propose multicomponent magnetic photonic crystals as a basis component for nonreciprocal optical elements. It is shown that introduction of three or more components may provide violation of mirror reflection symmetry, which is a necessary condition for obtaining nonreciprocity in the dispersion of the structure's eigenmodes. Numerical simulations confirm that nonreciprocity indeed develops in the form of nonreciprocal photonic band structure of three-component low-symmetry photonic crystal. We find that symmetry constraints produce fine structure in the nonreciprocity at high-symmetry points of the Brillouin zone.     

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.     

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.