Ultrashort pulse compression by using one-dimensional inhomogeneous photonic crystal

Ultrashort pulse compression by propagation in one-dimensional inhomogeneous photonic crystals with symmetric and asymmetric refractive index profiles are studied by using the transfer matrix method and Fourier analysis. The effect of different parameters, like chirp value of the incident pulse, angle of incidence, and number of unit cells on the compress factors, are investigated and temporal evolution of the reflected pulse is calculated. Compress factors as low as 32% for a sinusoidal profile are obtained using this structure.     

Thermooptical switching in a one-dimensional photonic crystal

The temperature dependence of the optical transmission spectrum of a one-dimensional multilayer photonic crystal structure with a central defect layer has been studied. The defect was represented by a nematic liquid crystal (5CB) layer with a homeotropic orientation. It is shows that the defect modes exhibit a 10-nm spectral shift due to a change in the refractive index of the liquid crystal in the course of heating-induced transition to the isotropic phase. A comparison of the experimental data to the results of heating-induced transition to the isotropic phase. A comparison of the experimental data to the results of numerical analysis shows the importance of allowance for the decay of defect modes.     

Gap modes of one-dimensional photonic crystal surface waves

The finite-difference time-domain method is employed for the analysis of coupling of the surface modes of two truncated one-dimensional photonic crystals separated by a gap. The wave vector, field distributions, and existence conditions of the coupled surface modes are investigated. The wave vector of symmetric gap modes increases with decreasing gap width, while that of antisymmetric modes decreases-exactly opposite of the situation for surface plasmons on metallic half-spaces separated by a dielectric gap. Photonic crystal gap modes could easily and effectively be used as nondissipating gap-mode waveguides.     

Tuned switching of surface waves by a liquid crystal cap layer in one-dimensional photonic crystals

In this paper, we theoretically study the electromagnetic surface waves localized at the interface between a homogeneous dielectric medium and a semi-infinite, one-dimensional photonic crystal (1D PC). The semi-infinite 1D PC is made of alternative layers of right-handed (RH) and dispersive left-handed (LH) materials in the presence of a liquid crystal (LC) cap layer. In this structure, we derive the surface waves dispersion relation with tunable switching and localization by using an analytical direct matching procedure within the Kronig-Penny model. It is shown that, for both of layer arrangements, the variation of molecules orientation of the LC cap layer acts as an effective tool to tune the type (tuned switching) and localization of the surface waves and it also can create a surface mode with maximum localization in the first frequency bandgap.     

Wide-field-of-view GaAs/AlxOy one-dimensional photonic crystal filter

The design, fabrication, and characterization of a one-dimensional photonic crystal optical filter that has a relatively narrow, flat-topped passband within a wide stop band and small angular sensitivity is presented. The filter is based on a one-dimensional photonic crystal structure that has multiple defects, facilitating simultaneous minimization of the angular sensitivity and optimization of the passband's characteristics. We use epitaxially grown and selectively oxidized GaAs/AlxOy multilayers to achieve a high-index-contrast material system and incorporate the experimentally determined optical and material properties into the design of the device. A flat-topped bandpass filter with a bandwidth of 65 nm and a wide field of view of 50 degrees is experimentally characterized and compared with the design predictions.     

Manipulation of photonic nanojet using liquid crystals for elliptical and circular core-shell variations

We present theoretical studies on a tunable photonic nanojet (PNJ) created by adapting a shell and liquid crystal (LC) core architecture. The shell is made of indium tin oxide and the core is infiltrated with nematic LCs. The application of an external static electric field to the LCs modifies their refractive index, and this allows tuning the PNJ effect in the proposed system. In addition to nonresonant excitation, resonant PNJ excitation is also obtained from a hybrid structure. Both nonresonant and resonant internal field excitations of circular and elliptical PNJ configurations are examined by using a high-resolution finite-difference time-domain method. The calculated results indicate that the proposed PNJ configurations with tunable refractive indices lead to significant changes in some parameters such as decay length, focal distance, full width at half maximum and electric field intensity. Such PNJ designs can be employed in high-resolution optical sensors, optical trapping, and high-density data storage.     

A compact optical wavelength splitter in one-dimensional photonic crystal waveguides

A fundamental T-branch in one-dimensional photonic crystal waveguides based on the omnidirectional reflection is constructed. Numerical simulations of this T-branch indicate that without any structural optimization, four high reflectance peaks and three high transmittance peaks appear alternately within a wide enough frequency band. The T-branch with the unique transmission characteristics can be used as a wavelength splitter. Combining the fundamental T-branch with flexible bends of one-dimensional photonic crystal waveguides, we construct simple and compact wavelength splitters with arbitrary branching angles. Those wavelength splitters are expected to be applied to high density photonic integrated circuits.     

General conditions of polarization-independent transmissions in one-dimensional magnetic photonic crystals

Abstract

Based on the transfer matrix theory, general conditions of polarization-independent transmissions in one-dimensional photonic crystals are derived. It is shown that the polarization-independent transmissions are obtained in photonic crystals consisting of two alternating layers with the same refraction index and optical thickness as well as the mutually reciprocal wave impedance. By using two different photonic crystals satisfying the above relation to constitute the light quantum-well structures, the structures have polarization-independent transmission properties. When a defective layer with wave impedance of 1 is introduced in the photonic crystals, the defective photonic crystals also have the polarization-independent transmission properties. In addition, polarization-independent low-pass spatial filters are achieved based on these photonic crystal structures.     

Design of omnidirectional reflectors based on a cascaded one-dimensional photonic crystal structure

The omnidirectional transmission properties of photonic heterostructures composed of cascaded one-dimensional photonic crystals (1DPCs) with the same materials and different thickness ratios of the alternate high- and low-refractive index layers were studied theoretically. A criterion for designing omnidirectional reflectors with a maximum bandgap width is presented for heterostructures with an arbitrary number of cascaded 1DPCs. Omnidirectional reflectors based on two and three cascaded 1DPCs are designed according to the criterion.     

Lasing in a three-dimensional photonic crystal of the liquid crystal blue phase II

Photonic-bandgap materials, with periodicity in one, two or three dimensions, offer control of spontaneous emission and photon localization. Low-threshold lasing has been demonstrated in two-dimensional photonic-bandgap materials, both with distributed feedback and defect modes. Liquid crystals with chiral constituents exhibit mesophases with modulated ground states. Helical cholesterics are one-dimensional, whereas blue phases are three-dimensional self-assembled photonic-bandgap structures. Although mirrorless lasing was predicted and observed in one-dimensional helical cholesteric materials and chiral ferroelectric smectic materials, it is of great interest to probe light confinement in three dimensions. Here, we report the first observations of lasing in three-dimensional photonic crystals, in the cholesteric blue phase II. Our results show that distributed feedback is realized in three dimensions, resulting in almost diffraction-limited lasing with significantly lower thresholds than in one dimension. In addition to mirrorless lasing, these self-assembled soft photonic-bandgap materials may also be useful for waveguiding, switching and sensing applications.     

Pinning effect on the photonic bandgaps of blue-phase liquid crystal

This study demonstrates the surface alignment induced pinning effects on blue phases. The morphologies of blue-phase platelets in a nonaligned cell become less uniform, and the photonic bandgap shifted over 120 nm during the cooling process. Comparing the different boundary conditions, the anchoring forces provide by homogeneous alignment can pin the blue-phase platelets, confine the photonic bandgap variation, and increase uniformity of the blue phase. This study also examines the pinning effect by the patternable photoalignment technique. Boundary anchoring forces have a significant effect on the morphology and photonic characteristics of the blue phase, making them applicable to practical applications.     

快速磁致显色光子晶体膜的制备与性能

采用热聚合的方法制备内嵌有Fe_3O_4@PAA磁性光子晶体纳米链和乙二醇(EG)液滴的聚二甲基硅氧烷(PDMS)光子晶体膜,采用红外光谱、扫描电镜、光学显微镜和光纤光谱仪对产物进行表征和性能分析。结果表明:液滴中光子晶体链能够沿磁场方向自由取向,赋予光子晶体膜结构色亮度可调的特性;光学性能测试结果表明,当磁性光子晶体纳米链链长为5μm,质量浓度为1.77 mg/mL时,制备的光子晶体膜在100 Gs下表现出最优的光学性能,且在2s内光子晶体膜的反射强度基本达到稳定,表现出快速磁致显色的特性。     

Extension of bandgap and switching effect of hetero-structure consisting of one-dimensional anisotropic photonic crystal

This paper presents an approach to control overlapping of band structure using a hetero-structure made of two one-dimensional photonic crystals (PCs) with anisotropic media. Some unique features, such as the extension of band structure and band edge resonance, have been discussed using a 4 × 4 transfix matrix method. The results show that by altering the relative orientation of the optical axes of the adjacent layers, it is possible to tailor the band structure of the PCs and control overlapping of the band structure of the hetero-structure. We also found that resonance modes operating near the band edge can be switched by altering the relative orientation of the optical axes of adjacent layers. These properties can be applied to tunable optical filters or optical switches.     

Infrared spectrally selective low emissivity from Ge/ZnS one-dimensional heterostructure photonic crystal

Ge/ZnS one-dimensional heterostructure photonic crystal (1DHPC) was successfully prepared by alternating thin films of Ge and ZnS on the quartz substrate by using the optical coating technology. The microstructure and spectral emissivity of as-prepared 1DHPC were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), respectively. The test result of spectral emissivity shows that the average emissivities of as-prepared Ge/ZnS 1DHPC in the atmospheric windows of 3–5 μm and 8–14 μm can be as low as 0.046 and 0.190, respectively, but the average emissivity in the non-atmospheric window of 5–8 μm can be as high as 0.579. The results indicate that the as-prepared Ge/ZnS 1DHPC has obviously infrared spectrally selective low emissivity characteristic, basically meets the requirements of our design. The as-prepared 1DHPC with infrared spectrally selective low emissivity is promising for use as a material to unify the infrared stealth and effective cooling of the aircraft.     

Q-factor enhancement in a one-dimensional photonic crystal cavity with embedded planar plasmonic metamaterials

We report Q-factor enhancement in a one-dimensional (1D) photonic crystal (PC) cavity by embedding electromagnetic-induced-transparency (EIT) planar plasmonic metamaterials in the cavity. Microwave experiments show tenfold Q-factor enhancements, confirming the numerical simulations. More importantly, the Q-factor enhancement is mainly due to both the longitudinal and lateral confinements contributed by the 1D PC cavity and the planar EIT metamaterials, respectively. The combined PC-EIT structure with a prominent cavity figure of merit may find new applications in nonlinear optics, cavity quantum electrodynamics, and low-threshold lasers.     

Microfluidic-directed magnetic controlling supraballs with multi-responsive anisotropic photonic crystal structures

The design and fabrication of anisotropic photonic crystal supraballs with multiple responses are highly desirable for versatile environmental sensing and flexible displaying.Herein,we developed an available strategy to construct a series of multi-responsive magnetic colloidal photonic crystal (CPC) supraballs with Janus and molecular-analogue structures.Initially,the humidity and temperature sensitive CPC supraballs were obtained via immobilization of polyacrylamide (PAM) and polyisopropylacrylamide (PNI-PAM) hydrogels into the CPC structure,respectively,and CdTe/ZnS quantum dots endow the supraballs fluorescent signal under UV light.Furthermore,Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) were served as a magnetic hemisphere to construct CPC Janus supraballs which can be subsequently assembled into three different molecular-shaped cluster particles that integrate more response types via Fe3O4 NPs hemisphere coa-lescence to a magnetic coupling center,recognizing multiple responses simultaneously that correspond the environmental altering.In addition,2D polychromatic patterns with sensitive CPC pixels printed by automatic printing system were demonstrated,which could monitor the changes of temperature and humidity.The multi-responsive magnetic controlling supraballs and 2D patterns reveal the promising applications in environmental sensing,anti-counterfeiting and displaying.     

Propagation characteristics of photonic crystal fibers selectively filled with ionic liquid

We present a numerical and experimental study of the propagation characteristics of photonic crystal fibers(PCFs)selectively filled with ionic liquid(IL;1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium iodine).Three types of IL-filled PCF are investigated:one with all air holes filled,one with an IL-filled air hole in the second ring,and one with an IL-filled air hole in the third ring.The results show that the third type of IL-filled PCF is the most sensitive to temperature;the sensitivity of resonant dips between the LP01 and LP21 modes is?2.9 nm/XC.Moreover,the intensity of the resonant dips changes with the polarization angle of the light source;the sensitivity is?0.79 dB per unit polarization angle.Based on this property,IL-filled PCFs with different utilities can be realized by changing the filling position flexibly.Consequently,IL-filled PCFs can be used under flexible conditions and controllable temperatures to create a compact polarization-angle sensor.     

Study of band structure of one-dimensional photonic crystal composed of dispersive and nonlinear dielectric materials

The analysis of band structure of one-dimensional (1-D) photonic crystal containing dispersive and non-linear dispersive materials has been presented. The band spectra for the different combination of photonic crystals have been calculated by the well-known plane wave expansion method. The effect of the dispersive and non-linear materials on the band structures has been determined. The third-order nonlinearity has been considered in the non-linear material, and Lorentz–Drude model has been taken for dispersive material. The band gaps of considered photonic crystal are affected by the nonlinearity in the presence of dispersive material like gold. We have observed that the normalized frequency difference between photonic bands decreases on increasing intensity of input beam. This work may be useful in optical switching devices.     

Temperature control of the ultra-short laser pulse compression in a one-dimensional photonic band gap structure with nematic liquid crystal as a defect layer

We investigate numerically the controllable chirped pulse compression in a one-dimensional photonic structure containing a nematic liquid crystal defect layer using the temperature dependent refractive index of the liquid crystal. We consider the structure under irradiation by near-infrared ultra-short laser pulses polarized parallel to the liquid crystal director at a normal angle of incidence. It is found that the dispersion behaviour and consequently the compression ability of the system can be changed in a controlled manner due to the variation in the defect temperature. When the temperature increased from 290 to 305 K, the transmitted pulse duration decreased from 75 to 42 fs in the middle of the structure, correspondingly. As a result, a novel low-loss tunable pulse compressor with a really compact size and high compression factor is achieved. The so-called transfer matrix method is utilized for numerical simulations of the band structure and reflection/transmission spectra of the structure under investigation.