Techniques for tuning two-dimensional photonic crystal devices

David M Pustai; Dennis W. Prather

doi:10.1117/12.504648

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5 January 2004 Techniques for tuning two-dimensional photonic crystal devices

David M Pustai, Dennis W. Prather

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Proceedings Volume 5213, Liquid Crystals VII; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.504648
Event: Optical Science and Technology, SPIE's 48th Annual Meeting, 2003, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

We investigate methods for actively tuning two-dimensional photonic crystal devices by modulating the index of refraction of the constituent materials. The index of refraction is modulated by infiltrating liquid crystals into a photonic crystal lattice of air cylinders in silicon. Moreover, the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules within the cylinders is actively modulated in order to induce a change in the dielectric tensor; thereby, tuning the optical properties of the photonic crystal. We validate and characterize the tunability of these devices both experimentally and with three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method simulations. Furthermore, we integrate these tunable devices to demonstrate their enhancement of WDM photonic crystal applications.

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David M Pustai and Dennis W. Prather "Techniques for tuning two-dimensional photonic crystal devices", Proc. SPIE 5213, Liquid Crystals VII, (5 January 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.504648

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