Photonic crystal

About: Photonic crystal is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 43424 publications have been published within this topic receiving 887083 citations.

Ultrafast nonlinear all-optical processes in silicon-on-insulator waveguides

Abstract: In this review we present an overview of the progress made in recent years in the field of integrated silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguide photonics with a strong emphasis on third-order nonlinear optical processes. Although the focus is on simple waveguide structures the utilization of complex structures such as microring resonators and photonic crystal structures is briefly discussed as well. Several fabrication methods are explained and methods which improve optical loss, coupling efficiency and polarization dependence are presented. As the demand for bandwidth increases communication systems are forced to use higher bit rates to accommodate the load. A consequence of high-bit-rate systems is that they require short pulses where the importance of waveguide dispersion tailoring becomes increasingly important. The impact of short pulses on the efficiency of all-optical processes is discussed and recent accomplishments in this field are presented. Numerical results of femtosecond, picosecond and nanosecond pulse propagation in SOI waveguides are compared to provide an insight into the physical processes that dominate at these different time scales. In this work we focus on two-photon absorption (TPA), free-carrier absorption (FCA), plasma dispersion and the optical Kerr effect. After describing these nonlinear effects, some other important all-optical processes based on plasma dispersion and the Kerr effect are described, namely cross-absorption modulation (XAM), self-phase modulation (SPM), cross-phase modulation (XPM), four-wave mixing (FWM) and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS). The latter provides the best hope for practical and/or commercial applications and finds its use in amplification and lasing. Furthermore, we present some guidelines for efficient numerical modelling of propagation in SOI waveguides. This review is a good starting point for those who are new in this hot and rapidly emerging field and gives an overview of important considerations that need to be taken into account when designing, fabricating and characterizing SOI waveguides for ultrafast third-order nonlinear all-optical processing.

Optomechanical Coupling in a Two-Dimensional Photonic Crystal Defect Cavity

Abstract: Periodically structured materials can sustain both optical and mechanical modes. Here we investigate and observe experimentally the optomechanical properties of a conventional two-dimensional suspended photonic crystal defect cavity with a mode volume of similar to 3(lambda/n)(3). Two families of mechanical modes are observed: flexural modes, associated to the motion of the whole suspended membrane, and localized modes with frequencies in the GHz regime corresponding to localized phonons in the optical defect cavity of diffraction-limited size. We demonstrate direct measurements of the optomechanical vacuum coupling rate using a frequency calibration technique. The highest measured values exceed 80 kHz, demonstrating high coupling of optical and mechanical modes in such structures.

Directional emission control and increased light extraction in GaN photonic crystal light emitting diodes

Abstract: Limitations in extraction efficiency of gallium nitride (GaN) photonic crystal (PhC) light emitting diodes (LEDs) are addressed by implementing an LED design using both two-dimensional PhCs in-plane and index guiding layers (IGLs) in the vertical direction. The effects of PhCs on light extraction and emission directionality from GaN LEDs are studied experimentally. Angular-resolved electroluminescence clearly shows the combined effect of controlling the vertical mode profile with the IGLs and tailoring the emission profile with the periodicity of the PhC lattice. Increases in directional emission as high as 3.5 times are achieved by taking advantage of this directionality and guided mode control.

Coupling into slow-mode photonic crystal waveguides.

Abstract: We study efficient injectors for coupling light from z-invariant ridge waveguides into slow Bloch modes of single-row defect photonic crystal waveguides. Two-dimensional vectorial computations performed with a Bloch mode theory approach predict that very high efficiencies (>90%) can be achieved for injector lengths of only a few wavelengths in length, even for small group velocities in the range of c/100-c/400. This result suggests that photonic crystal devices operating with slow waves can be interfaced with classical waveguides without sacrificing compactness.

Second harmonic generation in gallium phosphide photonic crystal nanocavities with ultralow continuous wave pump power

Abstract: We demonstrate second harmonic generation in photonic crystal nanocavities fabricated in the semiconductor gallium phosphide We observe second harmonic radiation at 750 nm with input powers of only nanowatts coupled to the cavity and conversion efficiency Pout/P2in,coupled=430%/W The large electronic band gap of GaP minimizes absorption loss, allowing efficient conversion Our results are promising for integrated, low-power light sources and on-chip reduction of input power in other nonlinear processes