Qiu Yi-shen

The 1 ? 4 Optical Splitters Based on Silicon Photonic Crystal Self-Collimation Ring Resonators

We report 1 × 4 optical splitters (OSs) with different splitting ratios based on either rod-type or hole-type silicon photonic crystal self-collimation ring resonators (SCRRs). The four beam splitters of the OSs are formed by changing the radii of silicon rods or air holes. The light beam propagating along the SCRR can be controlled by the self-collimation effect. The transmission spectra at the through and drop ports are investigated by using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The simulated results agree well with the theoretical calculation. For 1550-nm dropping wavelength, the free spectral ranges for rod-type and hole-type configurations are 28.8nm and 32.5nm, respectively, which almost cover the whole optical communication C-band window. The dimensions of these structures are only about 10 μm × 10 μm.

Tunable Photonic Crystal Mach?Zehnder Interferometer Based on Self-collimation Effect

A theoretical model for tunable Mach–Zehnder interferometers (TMZIs) constructed in a two-dimensional photonic crystal (2D PhC) is proposed. The 2D PhC consists of a square lattice of cylindric air holes in silicon. The TMZI includes two mirrors and two splitters. Light propagates between them employing a self-collimation effect. The two interferometer branches have different path lengths. Parts of the longer branch are infiltrated with a kind of liquid crystal (LC) with ordinary and extraordinary refractive indices 1.522 and 1.706, respectively. The transmission spectra at two TMZI output ports are in the shape of sinusoidal curves and have a uniform peak spacing 0.0017c/a in the frequency range from 0.26c/a to 0.27c/a. When the effective refractive index neff of the liquid crystal is increased from 1.522 to 1.706, the peaks shift to the lower frequencies over 0.0017c/a while the peak spacing is almost kept unchanged. Thus this TMZI can work as a tunable power splitter or an optical switch. For the central operating wavelength around 1550nm, its dimensions are only about tens of micron. Thus this device may be applied to photonic integrated circuits.

Polarization Beam Splitter Based on a Self-Collimation Michelson Interferometer in a Silicon Photonic Crystal

A polarization beam splitter based on a self-collimation Michelson interferometer (SMI) in a hole-type silicon photonic crystal is proposed and numerically demonstrated. Utilizing the polarization dependence of the transmission spectra of the SMI and polarization peak matching method, the SMI can work as a polarization beam splitter (PBS) by selecting an appropriate path length difference in the structure. Based on its novel polarization beam splitting mechanics, the polarization extinction ratios (PERs) for TM and TE modes are as high as 18.4 dB and 24.3 dB, respectively. Since its dimensions are only several operating wavelengths, the PBS may have practical applications in photonic integrated circuits.

A tunable infrared plasmonic polarization filter with asymmetrical cross resonator

A tunable infrared plasmonic polarization filter is proposed and investigated in this paper. The filter is based on the sandwich absorption structure which consists of three layers. The top layer is an array of asymmetrical cross resonator. The middle and bottom layers are dielectric spacer and metal film respectively. By absorbing specific wavelength of the incident light perfectly, the reflection spectrum of the structure shows filter performance. The calculated results show that the absorption wavelength is strongly dependent on the length of branch of the asymmetrical cross resonator which is parallel to the light polarization and independent of the length of the vertical one. Therefore, the asymmetrical cross resonator filter structure opens the way for freely tuning the filtering wavelength for a different light polarization. We can fix a resonant wavelength (absorption wavelength) corresponding to one polarization and change the resonant wavelength for the other polarization by adjusting the corresponding branch length of the asymmetrical cross resonator, or change the two resonant wavelengths of both two polarizations at the same time.

Rigorous vectorial coupled-mode theory for the isotropic waveguide with anisotropic disturbance

We present a rigorous vectorial coupled-mode theory (VCMT) for the isotropic waveguide structures with anisotropic disturbance by Maxwell equations and a modified dielectric tensor. The coupling coefficients are related to every element of a disturbed dielectric tensor. In the special case of isotropic disturbance and orthogonal mode coupling, our formulas can be reduced to the previous version of VCMT, in which the coupling coefficient does not include the polarization coupling term appearing in an earlier scalar coupled-mode theory with vector correction (SCMT-VC). The origin of the fundamental error found in the SCMT-VC is analyzed. Finally, we apply our theory to a special coupling between x- and y-polarized modes in a single-mode fiber.