L. A. Dunbar

Self-collimating photonic crystal polarization beam splitter

We present theoretical and experimental results of a polarization splitter device that consists of a photonic crystal (PhC) slab, which exhibits a large reflection coefficient for TE and a high transmission coefficient for TM polarization. The slab is embedded in a PhC tile operating in the self-collimation mode. Embedding the polarization-discriminating slab in a PhC with identical lattice symmetry suppresses the in-plane diffraction losses at the PhC-non-PhC interface. The optimization of the PhC-non-PhC interface is thereby decoupled from the optimization of the polarizing function. Transmissions as high as 35% for TM- and 30% for TE-polarized light are reported.

Liquid crystal infiltration of InP-based planar photonic crystals

A procedure for the infiltration of planar photonic crystals (PhCs) with liquid crystals (LCs) is presented. InP-based PhCs are infiltrated with the nematic LC-K15 in a specially designed high-vacuum chamber. The infiltration technique is validated and systematically characterized by measuring the transmission through the infiltrated PhCs at different temperatures and for different polarizations. The reproducibility and reliability of our procedure are demonstrated and a high filling efficiency is obtained.

Minimization of out-of-plane losses in planar photonic crystals by optimizing the vertical waveguide

A two-dimensional phenomenological approach previously developed for the modeling of out-of-plane losses in low refractive index contrast planar photonic crystals (PPhCs) is used to study the dependence of the different loss terms on the planar waveguide parameters. It is demonstrated that: (i) Losses can be minimized by designing vertical heterostructures optimized for a given technological process and/or for a given hole shape; and (ii) any small reduction of the loss value has a strong impact on the optical performances of PPhC structures.

A quantitative analysis of self-collimation effects in planar photonic crystals

A self-collimated beam propagating inside a planar photonic crystal is investigated. By measuring the beam divergence with distance a quantitative measure of the self-collimation effect is obtained. The beam width is measured using an experimental technique that maps the electromagnetic field inside the photonic crystal structure by measuring the out-of-plane scattering at the air holes. The experimental results agree well with theoretical predictions based on equifrequency surface analysis.

Collisional broadening of semiconductor microcavity polaritons

Note: APR 16PHYS STATUS SOLIDI A-APPL RES Reference LOEQ-ARTICLE-2002-030 Record created on 2007-08-31, modified on 2017-05-12