Hourglass nonlinear photonic crystal cavity for ultra-fast all-optical switching

Abstract

Abstract In this paper, a new design of an ultra fast all optical switch based on a new photonic crystal cavity combined with Kerr effect is proposed and its performance is studied. Numerical methods such as plane wave expansion (PWE) and finite difference time domain (FDTD) are used to perform simulations and study the optical properties of the proposed switch. Switching from ON to OFF status occurred when the resonant wavelength is shifted due to Kerr effect. The simulation results show that switch has a high-speed response of ∼15\u2009ps and since it has an ultra-small size of 273.24 μm2, it has a potential to be used in integrated optical-circuits.