Sergei Belousov

Iterative technique for analysis of periodic structures at oblique incidence in the finite-difference time-domain method

Normal incidence of a plane electromagnetic wave on a periodical structure can be simulated by the finite-difference time-domain method using a single unit cell with periodical boundary conditions imposed on its borders. For the oblique wave incidence, the boundary conditions would contain time delays and thus are difficult to implement in the time-domain method. We propose a method of oblique incidence simulation, based on an iterative algorithm. The accuracy of this method is demonstrated by comparing it with the layer Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker frequency-domain method for calculation of transmission spectra of a monolayered photonic crystal.

Hybrid transfer-matrix FDTD method for layered periodic structures

A hybrid transfer-matrix finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is proposed for modeling the optical properties of finite-width planar periodic structures. This method can also be applied for calculation of the photonic bands in infinite photonic crystals. We describe the procedure of evaluating the transfer-matrix elements by a special numerical FDTD simulation. The accuracy of the new method is tested by comparing computed transmission spectra of a 32-layered photonic crystal composed of spherical or ellipsoidal scatterers with the results of direct FDTD and layer-multiple-scattering calculations.

Using metallic photonic crystals as visible light sources

In this paper we study numerically and experimentally the possibility of using metallic photonic crystals (PCs) of different geometries (log-piles, direct and inverse opals) as visible light sources. It is found that by tuning geometrical parameters of a direct opal PC one can achieve substantial reduction of the emissivity in the infrared along with its increase in the visible. We take into account disorder of the PC elements in their sizes and positions, and get quantitative agreement between the numerical and experimental results. We analyze the influence of known temperature-resistant refractory host materials necessary for fixing the PC elements, and find that PC effects become completely destroyed at high temperatures due to the host absorption. Therefore, creating PC-based visible light sources requires that low-absorbing refractory materials for embedding medium be found.

Multiscale computer design of photonic crystal based materials for optical chemosensors

A multiscale method is proposed for modeling elements of optical chemosensors based on photonic crystals. The method is based on the first-principles quantum-chemical and electrodynamic calculations. A technique is proposed that takes into account electromagnetic emission sources in the framework of the finite-difference time-domain method. An end-to-end simulation of fluorescence in a photonic crystal is performed: the absorption and emission spectra of a dye on a substrate are calculated by quantum chemistry, and it is shown how the dye emission spectra are modified in a three-dimensional photonic crystal.

FDTD subcell graphene model beyond the thin-film approximation

A subcell technique for calculation of optical properties of graphene with the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is presented. The technique takes into account the surface conductivity of graphene which allows the correct calculation of its dispersive response for arbitrarily polarized incident waves interacting with the graphene. The developed technique is verified for a planar graphene sheet configuration against the exact analytical solution. Based on the same test case scenario, we also show that the subcell technique demonstrates a superior accuracy and numerical efficiency with respect to the widely used thin-film FDTD approach for modeling graphene. We further apply our technique to the simulations of a graphene metamaterial containing periodically spaced graphene strips (graphene strip-grating) and demonstrate good agreement with the available theoretical results.

Outcoupling efficiency of OLEDs with 2D periodical corrugation at the cathode

We study theoretically the optical performance of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with 2D periodical corrugation at the cathode. We show how emergence of radiative surface plasmon resonances at the 2D corrugated cathode leads to the enhancement of the outcoupling efficiency of the OLED, which is primarily due to the outcoupling of emission generated by vertically oriented emitting excitons in the emission layer. We analyze the outcoupling efficiency of the OLED as a function of geometrical parameters of the corrugation and establish design rules for optimal outcoupling enhancement with the 2D corrugation at the cathode.

Using memory-efficient algorithm for large-scale time-domain modeling of surface plasmon polaritons propagation in organic light emitting diodes

We demonstrate an efficient approach to numerical modeling of optical properties of large-scale structures with typical dimensions much greater than the wavelength of light. For this purpose, we use the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method enhanced with a memory efficient Locally Recursive non-Locally Asynchronous (LRnLA) algorithm called DiamondTorre and implemented for General Purpose Graphical Processing Units (GPGPU) architecture. We apply our approach to simulation of optical properties of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), which is an essential step in the process of designing OLEDs with improved efficiency. Specifically, we consider a problem of excitation and propagation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in a typical OLED, which is a challenging task given that SPP decay length can be about two orders of magnitude greater than the wavelength of excitation. We show that with our approach it is possible to extend the simulated volume size sufficiently so that SPP decay dynamics is accounted for. We further consider an OLED with periodically corrugated metallic cathode and show how the SPP decay length can be greatly reduced due to scattering off the corrugation. Ultimately, we compare the performance of our algorithm to the conventional FDTD and demonstrate that our approach can efficiently be used for large-scale FDTD simulations with the use of only a single GPGPU-powered workstation, which is not practically feasible with the conventional FDTD.