All-optical photonic crystal AND,XOR, and OR logic gates using nonlinear Kerr effect and ring resonators

In this article, two structures are proposed for all-optical AND, XOR, and OR logic gates based on nonlinear photonic crystals. The proposed structures include a Y-junction and ring resonator-based limiters. Two different structures are designed as the limiter in order to produce AND–XOR and AND–OR logic gates. Nonlinear rods of proposed structure have been used in order to create the frequency shift for different values of input power. Finite difference time domain method has been utilized to simulate the performance of proposed logic gates. Simulation results show that the smallest ON–OFF logic-level contrast ratio for the structures proposed for AND–XOR and AND–OR logic gates are 20.29 dB and 16.7 dB, respectively.     

All-optical switching based on the electromagnetically induced transparency effect of an active photonic crystal microcavity

We report a new all-optical switching in a two-dimensional photonic crystal microcavity made of semiconductor multiple quantum wells and realized based on the electromagnetically induced transparency effect with exciton and two-exciton energy levels. We use the quantum coherence effects to achieve small absorption of the probe field, and the absorption of the probe field can be adjusted by controlling the pump field and decay rate. We turn the control field into pulses of light field so that we can regulate the efficiency of the switch. Through selecting the appropriate control light field intensity, we can obtain a switching efficiency of 85% and a switching time is 10 ps. This result can be used for the development of new types of nanoelectronic devices for realizing the switching process.     

Low-power optical switching with Kerr nonlinear material in two-dimensional photonic crystal nanocavity

We investigate numerically optical bistability in direct-coupled cavity–waveguide photonic crystal system using the finite-difference time-domain method. The quality factor of the cavity is optimized by engineering the geometrical parameters. Numerical results indicate that the threshold power of optical bistability can be reduced greatly due to the increased quality factor.     

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.     

Nonlinear response of a 2D photonic crystal made of Kerr effect nonlinear parallel rods of large diameter

We present the calculation of the transmission as a function of the intensity of incoming light of nonlinear parallel rods distributed in a periodic way. We have developed a new calculation combining finite elements and the multiple scattering method to take into account the distribution of the intensity inside the large rods. Indeed, in this case the energy inside the rods is no longer homogeneous when a significant Kerr effect takes place. The Kerr effect induced a broadening of the photonic band gap when the intensity increased. When a defect was inserted into the structure, an hysteresis phenomenon occurred for the resonance associated with this defect. We investigated the influence of taking into account the inhomogeneity of intensity in the rods on the bistability phenomenon. It appeared that even for a rod diameter of λ/10 the homogeneous model failed to describe correctly the bistability.     

A 2*4 all optical decoder switch based on photonic crystal ring resonators

Based on photonic crystal ring resonators and nonlinear Kerr effect in this paper, we proposed a 2*4 all optical decoder switch. Our proposed structure has two logic input ports and one bias input port. This decoder switch has four output ports. Via these two logic input ports, we control the bias signal to transfer toward which output port. We employed numerical methods such as plane wave expansion and finite difference time domain methods for analyzing the proposed structure.     

Label-free detection of glycated haemoglobin in human blood using silicon-based photonic crystal nanocavity biosensor

Abstract

In this paper, we describe a two-dimensional photonic crystal-based biosensor that consists of a waveguide and a nanocavity with high sensitivity. A new method is employed for increasing sensitivity of the biosensor. The simulation results show that biosensor is highly sensitive to the refractive index (RI) variations due to injected biomaterials, like glycated haemoglobin, into the sensing surface. The proposed biosensor is designed for the wavelength range of 1514.4–1896.3 nm. The sensitivity and the quality factor are calculated to be 3000 and 272.43 nm/RIU, respectively. The designed structure can detect a 0.002 change in the RI via resonant wavelength shift of 0.9 nm. The band diagram and transmission spectra are computed using plane wave expansion and finite difference time domain methods.     

All-optical controllable channel-drop filters in two-dimensional square-lattice photonic crystals

A novel all-optical controllable channel-drop filter in photonic crystals (PC) of square lattice is presented. We show that using a resonant-cavity-based add-drop filter with a wavelength-selective reflection feedback and a single-control switching module which is based on nonlinear PC microcavities, the dropped channel can be routed to the drop port or returned to the bus waveguide. Using the temporal coupled-mode theory and two-dimensional nonlinear finite-difference time-domain method, the performance of the proposed device is investigated and the simulation results show the validity of the proposed design.     

Linear and nonlinear optical properties of hollow core photonic crystal fiber

We review the optical guidance properties of hollow-core photonic crystal fibers. We follow a historical perspective to introduce the two major optical guidance mechanisms that were identified as operating in these fibers: photonic bandgap guidance and inhibited coupling guidance. We then review the modal properties of these fibers and assess the transmission loss mechanisms in photonic bandgap guiding hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. We dedicate a section to a review of the technical basics of hollow-core photonic crystal fiber fabrication and photonic microcell assembly. We review some of the early results on the use of hollow-core photonic crystal fiber for laser guiding micro-sized particles, as well as the generation of stimulated Raman scattering, electromagnetically induced transparency and laser frequency stabilization when the fiber core is filled with a gas-phase material. We conclude this review with a non-exhaustive list of prospects where hollow-core photonic crystal fiber could play a central role.     

Asymmetric light transmission based on coupling between photonic crystal waveguides and L1/L3 cavity

A compact design of all-optical diode with mode conversion function based on a two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguide and an L1 or L3 cavity is theoretically investigated. The proposed photonic crystal structures comprise a triangular arrangement of air holes embedded in a silicon substrate. Asymmetric light propagation is achieved via the spatial mode match/mismatch in the coupling region. The simulations show that at each cavity’s resonance frequency, the transmission efficiency of the structure with the L1 and L3 cavities reach 79% and 73%, while the corresponding unidirectionalities are 46 and 37 dB, respectively. The functional frequency can be controlled by simply adjusting the radii of specific air holes in the L1 and L3 cavities. The proposed structure can be used as a frequency filter, a beam splitter and has potential applications in all-optical integrated circuits.     

Sensitive photonic crystal phase logic gates

Total optical phase logic gates are reported in this paper. They are constructed by coupled-defect photonic crystal after two problems are overcome by a heterostructure or an asymmetric structure. Both half and all-phase logic gates are discussed. The sensitivity of these total optical phase logic gates not only are two orders sensitive than those using amplitude-signal, but also have many other advantages: such as very low energy cost. By using such phase logic gates, only a continued wave laser with one frequency is sufficient to operate the phase logic gate or the whole optical integrated circuit.     

纯介质光子晶体非线性效应研究进展

如何在低阈值小尺度(毫瓦或皮焦量级、微米以下)情况下激发非线性光学效应是近年来光学领域研究的重要课题。该研究最直接的应用需求就是光子集成芯片,这是未来实现超高速、大容量信息网络体系的基础。光子晶体具有类似于半导体能带的光子禁带(PBG),被誉为“光子半导体”,为人们提供了一种新颖而又实用的操纵光子的物理手段,使低阈值、可集成非线性效应产生成为可能。越来越多的非线性效应在光子晶体中已经被发现,例如光子晶体慢光、带隙孤子、电磁感应透明、二次谐波产生、光学双稳态等,本文将着重对可用于光子集成器件开发的光子晶体非线性效应研究领域的一些主要成果和进展进行总结,介绍其相关应用并对光子晶体非线性效应研究作出展望。

     

Terahertz narrow-band filter based on rectangle photonic crystal

A terahertz filter with a channel drop cavity and a resonant reflection cavity in a two-dimensional photonic crystal is theoretically proposed. The channel drop cavity is used to trap photons at resonant frequency from the bus waveguide through coupling and emit them to a drop waveguide, while the resonant reflection cavity is used to realize wavelength selective reflection feedback in the bus waveguide. The transmission properties of the terahertz filter are simulated using the finite element method. It is found that a peak with the central frequency of 1.12 THz is existed in the transmission spectrum. The full width at half maximum of the passband is only 5 GHz, and the peak drop efficiency is up to 94.8%.     

A novel proposal for all optical 3 to 8 decoder based on nonlinear ring resonators

In this paper, a 3 to 8 optical decoder was proposed using nonlinear photonic crystal ring resonators. For realizing the 3 to 8 decoder, we combined seven 1 to 2 optical decoders. In the proposed structure, X, Y and Z serve as input ports. By combination of these ports, one can control which output port to be ON. The maximum time delay of the proposed structure is about 6?ps.     

Modulation instability of light beam propagation near the supercollimation frequency in nonlinear photonic crystals

The modulation instability (MI) of light beam propagation near the supercollimation frequency in nonlinear photonic crystals was investigated. The role of the nonlinear diffraction effect, merged as a result of nonlinear tuning of the equal-frequency contour curvature, in MI is particularly identified. It is found that the nonlinear diffraction effect tends to stimulate or suppress MI depending on the sign of the product of nonlinear diffraction and Kerr effects. Further analysis reveals that the MI and soliton phenomenon may be steered by the tunable supercollimation frequency in nonlinear photonic crystals.     

Broadband second harmonic generation in an imperfect nonlinear photonic crystal with random defects

In this paper, we study broadband second harmonic generation (SHG) in an imperfect nonlinear photonic crystal in which defects are introduced with random lengths. We show that the efficient SHG output is obtained when the length of each defect varies near certain specialized values. The bandwidth of the SHG output broadens with the increasing randomness of defect length. Moreover, the SHG bandwidth is nearly unaffected only when the total length of the whole structure is long enough. The disordered structure also exhibits good tolerance to the fabrication error, which provides a way to control SHG intensity and bandwidth separately.     

Modeling of dispersion and nonlinear characteristics of tapered photonic crystal fibers for applications in nonlinear optics

In this article, we investigate for the first time the dispersion and the nonlinear characteristics of the tapered photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) as a function of length z, via solving the eigenvalue equation of the guided mode using the finite-difference frequency-domain method. Since the structural parameters such as the air-hole diameter and the pitch of the microstructured cladding change along the tapered PCFs, dispersion and nonlinear properties change with the length as well. Therefore, it is important to know the exact behavior of such fiber parameters along z which is necessary for nonlinear optics applications. We simulate the z dependency of the zero-dispersion wavelength, dispersion slope, effective mode area, nonlinear parameter, and the confinement loss along the tapered PCFs and propose useful relations for describing dispersion and nonlinear parameters. The results of this article, which are in a very good agreement with the available experimental data, are important for simulating pulse propagation as well as investigating nonlinear effects such as supercontinuum generation and parametric amplification in tapered PCFs.     

Optical modulator based on coupled photonic crystal cavities

Abstract

We propose and numerically investigate an optical signal modulator based on two-photonic crystal nanobeam cavities coupled through a waveguide. The suggested modulator shifts the resonant frequency over a scalable range. We design a compact optical modulator based on photonic crystal nanobeams cavities that exhibits high stability to manufacturing. Photonic crystal waveguide tuning in the low-intensity region of the resonant mode is demonstrated. The advantages of the suggested approach over the single-resonator optical modulator approaches include the possibilities to shift the modulator frequency over a scalable range that depends on switching energy level and to effectively electrically tune the device in the low-intensity region of the resonant mode.     

All-optical NRZ-to-RZ format conversion at 10 Gbit/s with 1-to-4 wavelength multicasting exploiting cross-phase modulation & four-wave-mixing in single dispersion-flattened highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber

All-optical NRZ-to-RZ format conversion with a function of wavelength multicasting is proposed in this paper, which is realized by exploiting cross-phase modulation (XPM) and four-wave-mixing (FWM) in a dispersion-flattened highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber (DF-HNL-PCF). The designed format converter is experimentally demonstrated, for which the 1-to-4 wavelength multicasting is achieved simultaneously by filtering out two FWM idler waves and both blue-chirped and red-chirped components of the broadened NRZ spectrum induced by XPM. Moreover, the wavelength tunability and dynamic characteristics of the proposed NRZ-to-RZ format converter are also exploited using the different central wavelengths of an optical clock signal and varying the input optical power at a DF-HNL-PCF in our experiment. It is shown that the designed format converter can possess a wide range of operational wavelength over 17 nm, an optimal extinction ratio of 11.6 dB, and a Q-factor of 7.1, respectively. Since the proposed scheme uses an optical fiber-based configuration and is easy for implementation, it can be very useful for future applications in advanced fiber-optic communication networks.