The term photonic crystals appears because of the analogy between electron waves in crystals and the light waves in artificial periodic dielectric structures. During the recent years the investigation of one-, two-and three-dimensional periodic structures has attracted a widespread attention of the world optics community because of great potentiality of such structures in advanced applied optical fields. The interest in periodic structures has been stimulated by the fast development of semiconductor technology that now allows the fabrication of artificial structures, whose period is comparable with the wavelength of light in the visible and infrared ranges.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/6354/16969/00781867.pdf

Photonic crystals

Photonic cavities that strongly confine light are finding applications in many areas of physics and engineering, including coherent electron-photon interactions, ultra-small filters, low-threshold lasers, photonic chips, nonlinear optics and quantum information processing. Critical for these applications is the realization of a cavity with both high quality factor, Q, and small modal volume, V. The ratio Q/V determines the strength of the various cavity interactions, and an ultra-small cavity enables large-scale integration and single-mode operation for a broad range of wavelengths. However, a high-Q cavity of optical wavelength size is difficult to fabricate, as radiation loss increases in inverse proportion to cavity size. With the exception of a few recent theoretical studies, definitive theories and experiments for creating high-Q nanocavities have not been extensively investigated. Here we use a silicon-based two-dimensional photonic-crystal slab to fabricate a nanocavity with Q = 45,000 and V = 7.0 x 10(-14) cm3; the value of Q/V is 10-100 times larger than in previous studies. Underlying this development is the realization that light should be confined gently in order to be confined strongly. Integration with other photonic elements is straightforward, and a large free spectral range of 100 nm has been demonstrated.

High- Q photonic nanocavity in a two-dimensional photonic crystal

Slow light with a remarkably low group velocity is a promising solution for buffering and time-domain processing of optical signals. It also offers the possibility for spatial compression of optical energy and the enhancement of linear and nonlinear optical effects. Photonic-crystal devices are especially attractive for generating slow light, as they are compatible with on-chip integration and room-temperature operation, and can offer wide-bandwidth and dispersion-free propagation. Here the background theory, recent experimental demonstrations and progress towards tunable slow-light structures based on photonic-band engineering are reviewed. Practical issues related to real devices and their applications are also discussed. The unique properties of wide-bandwidth and dispersion-free propagation in photonic-crystal devices have made them a good candidate for slow-light generation. This article gives the background theory of slow light, as well as an overview of recent experimental demonstrations based on photonic-band engineering.

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Slow light in photonic crystals

Bound states in the continuum (BICs) are waves that remain localized even though they coexist with a continuous spectrum of radiating waves that can carry energy away. Their very existence defies conventional wisdom. Although BICs were first proposed in quantum mechanics, they are a general wave phenomenon and have since been identified in electromagnetic waves, acoustic waves in air, water waves and elastic waves in solids. These states have been studied in a wide range of material systems, such as piezoelectric materials, dielectric photonic crystals, optical waveguides and fibres, quantum dots, graphene and topological insulators. In this Review, we describe recent developments in this field with an emphasis on the physical mechanisms that lead to BICs across seemingly very different materials and types of waves. We also discuss experimental realizations, existing applications and directions for future work. The fascinating wave phenomenon of ‘bound states in the continuum’ spans different material and wave systems, including electron, electromagnetic and mechanical waves. In this Review, we focus on the common physical mechanisms underlying these bound states, whilst also discussing recent experimental realizations, current applications and future opportunities for research.

Bound states in the continuum

Photonic technology, using light instead of electrons as the information carrier, is increasingly replacing electronics in communication and information management systems. Microscopic light manipulation, for this purpose, is achievable through photonic bandgap materials1,2, a special class of photonic crystals in which three-dimensional, periodic dielectric constant variations controllably prohibit electromagnetic propagation throughout a specified frequency band. This can result in the localization of photons3,4,5,6, thus providing a mechanism for controlling and inhibiting spontaneous light emission that can be exploited for photonic device fabrication. In fact, carefully engineered line defects could act as waveguides connecting photonic devices in all-optical microchips7, and infiltration of the photonic material with suitable liquid crystals might produce photonic bandgap structures (and hence light-flow patterns) fully tunable by an externally applied voltage8,9,10. However, the realization of this technology requires a strategy for the efficient synthesis of high-quality, large-scale photonic crystals with photonic bandgaps at micrometre and sub-micrometre wavelengths, and with rationally designed line and point defects for optical circuitry. Here we describe single crystals of silicon inverse opal with a complete three-dimensional photonic bandgap centred on 1.46 µm, produced by growing silicon inside the voids of an opal template of close-packed silica spheres that are connected by small ‘necks’ formed during sintering, followed by removal of the silica template. The synthesis method is simple and inexpensive, yielding photonic crystals of pure silicon that are easily integrated with existing silicon-based microelectronics.

Large-scale synthesis of a silicon photonic crystal with a complete three-dimensional bandgap near 1.5 micrometres

By introducing artificial defects and/or light-emitters into photonic bandgap structures1,2, it should be possible to manipulate photons. For example, it has been predicted2 that strong localization (or trapping) of photons should occur in structures with single defects, and that the propagation3,4 of photons should be controllable using arrays of defects. But there has been little experimental progress in this regard, with the exception of a laser5 based on a single-defect photonic crystal. Here we demonstrate photon trapping by a single defect that has been created artificially inside a two-dimensional photonic bandgap structure. Photons propagating through a linear waveguide are trapped by the defect, which then emits them to free space. We envisage that this phenomenon may be used in ultra-small optical devices whose function is to selectively drop (or add) photons with various energies from (or to) optical communication traffic. More generally, our work should facilitate the development of all-optical circuits incorporating photonic bandgap waveguides and resonators.

Trapping and emission of photons by a single defect in a photonic bandgap structure

Lasing action of a surface-emitting laser with a two-dimensional photonic crystal structure is investigated. The photonic crystal has a triangular-lattice structure composed of InP and air holes, which is integrated with an InGaAsP/InP multiple-quantum-well active layer by a wafer fusion technique. Uniform two-dimensional lasing oscillation based on the coupling of light propagating in six equivalent Γ−X directions is successfully observed, where the wavelength of the active layer is designed to match the folded (second-order) Γ point of the Γ−X direction. The very narrow divergence angle of far field pattern and/or the lasing spectrum, which is considered to reflect the two-dimensional stop band, also indicate that the lasing oscillation occurs coherently.

Coherent two-dimensional lasing action in surface-emitting laser with triangular-lattice photonic crystal structure

We demonstrate polarization mode selection in a two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystal laser by controlling the geometry of the unit cell structure. As the band diagram of the square-lattice photonic crystal is influenced by the unit cell structure, calculations reveal that changing the structure from a circular to an elliptical geometry should result in a strong modification of the electromagnetic field distributions at the band edges. Such a structural modification is expected to provide a mechanism for controlling the polarization modes of the emitted light. A square-lattice photonic crystal with the elliptical unit cell structure has been fabricated and integrated with a gain media. The observed coherent 2D lasing action with a single wavelength and controlled polarization is in good agreement with the predicted behavior.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/293/5532/1123.full.pdf

Polarization Mode Control of Two-Dimensional Photonic Crystal Laser by Unit Cell Structure Design

3D photonic crystals with light-emitters and point-defects are fabricated and investigated. It is experimentally shown that light-emission is suppressed at the complete crystal parts, while cavity modes are successfully observed at the defect parts.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/305/5681/227.full.pdf

Control of light emission by 3D photonic crystal

The lasing mode of a two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystal laser with in-plane multidirectionally distributed feedback effect is analyzed theoretically and experimentally. From an investigation of the Bragg diffraction conditions at several points in the photonic band diagram where lasing is expected, we identify a particular \ensuremath{\Gamma} point at which lasing occurs due to the coupling of lightwaves propagating in six equivalent \ensuremath{\Gamma}-X directions and diffraction normal to the substrate surface. In order to investigate the lasing mode in detail, the distribution of the electromagnetic field at the band edges at the \ensuremath{\Gamma} point is calculated, and each band edge is found to have a different field pattern. The lasing characteristics of the 2D photonic crystal laser at the lasing wavelength corresponding to the \ensuremath{\Gamma} point are measured. Single-mode lasing over a broad circular area is observed by microelectroluminescence measurements under pulsed conditions at room temperature. We also demonstrate the correspondence between the measured lasing wavelengths and calculated band edges by comparing the polarization characteristics with the calculated distribution of the electromagnetic field. The results indicate that 2D coherent lasing oscillation does, in fact, occur due to the multidirectional coupling effect in the 2D photonic crystal. From the theoretical calculation, we show that the polarization patterns of the lasers can be controlled by introducing artificial lattice defects.

Masahiro Imada

Papers

Trapping and emission of photons by a single defect in a photonic bandgap structure

Coherent two-dimensional lasing action in surface-emitting laser with triangular-lattice photonic crystal structure

Polarization Mode Control of Two-Dimensional Photonic Crystal Laser by Unit Cell Structure Design

Control of light emission by 3D photonic crystal

Multidirectionally distributed feedback photonic crystal lasers