Losses in slab photonic crystals induced by fabrication tolerances

Janusz A. Murakowski; Garrett J. Schneider; Ahmed S. Sharkawy; Shouyuan Shi; Dennis W. Prather

doi:10.1117/12.506457

29 December 2003 Losses in slab photonic crystals induced by fabrication tolerances

Janusz A. Murakowski, Garrett J. Schneider, Ahmed S. Sharkawy, Shouyuan Shi, Dennis W. Prather

Proceedings Volume 5184, Physics, Theory, and Applications of Periodic Structures in Optics II; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.506457
Event: Optical Science and Technology, SPIE's 48th Annual Meeting, 2003, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

We investigate the effect of fabrication tolerances on the propagation losses of light guided in photonic crystal waveguides. We focus on slab photonic crystals defined as a regular array of holes in high index material such as silicon. The deviation of photonic crystal lattice parameters, such as the hole diameter, from the ideal results in the shift of the guided mode in the photonic band gap. This shift occurs randomly along a photonic waveguide as the electromagnetic wave propagates in it. Because the range of frequencies supported in a photonic crystal waveguide is typically very narrow, even a small deviation of the lattice parameters may result in a sufficiently large shift for the wave to fall out of the guided range and become lossy. Indeed, we demonstrate that a deviation in hole size as small as a few percent can result in a guided mode becoming radiative. Consequently, a wave propagating in a real photonic crystal waveguide undergoes multiple transitions between guided and radiative modes, depending on the local variations of the photonic crystal parameters. This results in lossy propagation of the wave. We present simulations of the light propagation in a photonic crystal waveguide incorporating real-life fabrication tolerances.

Citation Download Citation

Janusz A. Murakowski, Garrett J. Schneider, Ahmed S. Sharkawy, Shouyuan Shi, and Dennis W. Prather "Losses in slab photonic crystals induced by fabrication tolerances", Proc. SPIE 5184, Physics, Theory, and Applications of Periodic Structures in Optics II, (29 December 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.506457

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available