Design of integrated optical circulator based on photonic crystals

Photonic crystals containing defects produce enhanced Faraday rotation. They have opened up the possibility of fabricating very compact magneto-optics structures. In this work, we have designed a two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguide for use in optical packaging and integrated optical circuits. For design purposes, a temporal coupled mode theory was utilized at the first step. It examined the coupling between cavity and optical ports. After acquiring a general solution, it would be applied to specific problem in hand. Then, optical characteristics of photonic crystal were investigated to design the practical parts such as cavity and waveguides which eventually a triangular crystal lattice of air holes in Bi:YIG (BIG) was considered to be the best candidate. Finally, the results of analytical investigations were evaluated using OptiFDTD software and then were confirmed.