Fabrication of photonic crystal waveguide elements on SOI

Photonic crystal angle elements fabricated in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) are reported. These elements are modelled using three-dimensional finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. Photonic crystals have a two-dimensional trigonal lattice structure with cylindrical air columns. The period of the crystal is approximately 420 nm and the cylinder diameter is about 330 nm. Defect creation is performed by removing air columns from certain lattice sites. The SOI-layer is one micron thick and it also defines the column height. The FDTD modelling results imply that photonic crystal angle elements with lower height do not exhibit proper light transmission at the telecommunications wavelength window, 1550 nm. FDTD modelling results give higher transmission for TE-polarised light than for TM-polarisation. For better light coupling a taper element with widened waveguide end is designed.

[1]  A. Scherer,et al.  Waveguiding in Planar Photonic Crystals , 2000 .

[2]  Jean-Michel Lourtioz,et al.  Two-dimensional photonic crystals in macroporous silicon: from mid-infrared (10 /spl mu/m) to telecommunication wavelengths (1.3-1.5 /spl mu/m) , 1999 .

[3]  Kurt Busch,et al.  Attenuation of optical transmission within the band gap of thin two-dimensional macroporous silicon photonic crystals , 1999 .

[4]  Kai-Ming Ho,et al.  Dielectric waveguides in two-dimensional photonic bandgap materials , 1999 .

[5]  John D. Joannopoulos,et al.  Novel applications of photonic band gap materials: Low-loss bends and high Q cavities , 1994 .

[6]  T. Baba,et al.  Analysis of finite 2D photonic crystals of columns and lightwave devices using the scattering matrix method , 1999 .

[7]  Allen Taflove,et al.  Computational Electrodynamics the Finite-Difference Time-Domain Method , 1995 .

[8]  Thomas F. Krauss,et al.  Optical and confinement properties of two-dimensional photonic crystals , 1999 .

[9]  Henri Benisty,et al.  Enhanced transmission through photonic-crystal-based bent waveguides by bend engineering , 2001 .

[10]  Thomas F. Krauss,et al.  Two-dimensional photonic-bandgap structures operating at near-infrared wavelengths , 1996, Nature.

[11]  Anne Talneau,et al.  Photonic-crystal ultrashort bends with improved transmission and low reflection at 1.55 μm , 2002 .

[12]  J. Joannopoulos,et al.  High Transmission through Sharp Bends in Photonic Crystal Waveguides. , 1996, Physical review letters.

[13]  Henri Benisty,et al.  Resonant and nonresonant transmission through waveguide bends in a planar photonic crystal , 2001 .

[14]  Timo Aalto,et al.  Fabrication and characterization of waveguide structures on SOI , 2003, Photonics Fabrication Europe.