We report on a channel drop filter with a mode gap in the propagating mode of a photonic crystal slab that was
fabricated on silicon on an insulator wafer. The results, simulated with the 3-dimensional finite-difference time-domain
and plane-wave methods, demonstrated that an index-guiding mode for the line defect waveguide of a photonic crystal
slab has a band gap at wave vector k = 0.5 for a mainly TM-like light-wave. The mode gap works as a distributed Bragg
grating reflector that propagates the light-wave through the line defect waveguide, and can be used as an optical filter.
The filter bandwidth was varied from 1-8 nm with an r/a (r: hole radius, a: lattice constant) variation around the
wavelength range of 1550-1600 nm. We fabricated a Bragg reflector with a photonic crystal line-defect waveguide and
Si-channel waveguides and by measuring the transmittance spectrum found that the Bragg reflector caused abrupt dips
in transmittance. These experimental results are consistent with the results of the theoretical analysis described above.
Utilizing the Bragg reflector, we fabricated channel dropping filters with photonic crystal slabs connected between
channel waveguides and demonstrated their transmittance characteristics. They were highly drop efficient, with a flattop
drop-out spectrum at a wavelength of 1.56 μm and a drop bandwidth of 5.8 nm. Results showed that an optical adddrop
multiplexer with a 2-D photonic crystal will be available for application in WDM devices for photonic networks
and for LSIs in the near future.
Reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers (R-OADMs) are indispensable devices in wavelength division
multiplexing (WDM) network systems, since they can be used for dynamically wavelength routing and for replacing any
failed OADM unit. Here, we propose a photonic integrated R-OADM device based on silicon photonic crystal (PhC)
slab waveguides, which is controlled through thermo-optic effect. The R-OADM device was composed of a tunable
wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer and a 2×2 optical switch, which were both formed with Mach-Zehnder
interferometers (MZIs). The device was compact with a net footprint of 500 μm × 140 μm, excluding its electrode pads.
The dropping central wavelength of the R-OADM can be tuned through thermo-optic effect, and the output port of the
drop signal can be selected between the THROUGH and DROP ports with the 2x2 optical switch. A maximum 10.8 nm
dropping wavelength tuning was obtained with a heating power of 0.9 W. The 3-dB channel-dropping bandwidth was 5
nm and the extinction ratio at the dropping wavelength for the port THROUGH was as high as 40 dB. The tuning
response speed was about 100 μsec.
We report on a channel-drop filter (CDF) with a mode gap of propagating mode for a photonic crystal slab that was fabricated on silicon on an insulator wafer. The results simulated with 3-dimensional finite-difference time-domain and plane-wave methods demonstrated that an index-guiding mode for a line defect waveguide of a photonic crystal slab has a band gap at wave vector k = 0.5 for a mainly TM-like light-wave. The mode gap works as a distributed Bragg grating reflector for the propagating light-wave through the line defect waveguide, and it can be used as an optical filter. The filter bandwidth was varied from 1 - 8 nm with an r/a (r: hole radius, a: lattice constant) variation around the wavelength range of 1550 - 1600 nm. We fabricated a Bragg reflector with a photonic crystal line-defect waveguide and with Si-channel waveguides and obtained results of transmittance abrupt dips that come from the Bragg reflector that were measured in the transmittance spectrum. The experimental results are consistent with our theoretical analysis.
Si-nanowire waveguides are attractive structures for constructing various optical devices that are extremely small, and that can be flexibly connected as devices on a silicon (Si) wafer. The waveguides can be bent with extremely small curvatures of less than a few micrometers of bending radius because the large difference of refractive indices between the Si-core (n = 3.5) and the silica cladding material (n = 1.5) strongly confines the optical power in the waveguide core. Therefore, these waveguides are promising for flexible optical interconnections on Si chips as well as for constructing many extremely small optical devices. We used Si-nanowire waveguides to fabricate optical directional couplers and demonstrated their fundamental characteristics. Their coupling-length was extremely short, several micrometers, because of strong optical coupling between the waveguide cores. Therefore, we could construct ultra compact power combiners/dividers. We have also demonstrated wavelength demultiplexing functions for these devices with a long coupled waveguide. Optical outputs from a device with a 100-μm long coupled waveguide changed reciprocally with 20-nm wavelength spacing between the parallel and cross ports. Ultra small optical add-drop multiplexers (OADMs) with Bragg grating reflectors made of the Si-nanowire waveguides have been also demonstrated. The dropping wavelength bandwidth of the OADMs was less than 0.7 nm, and these dropping wavelengths could be precisely designed by adjusting the grating period, and this indicated the possibility of applying these devices in dense WDM systems. Using the Si-nanowire waveguide, we have also demonstrated nonlinear-optic effects such as the spectral broadening of optical short pulses due to self-phase modulation and nonlinear transmittance based on two-photon absorption. At a 12 W input power level, we observed a 1.5-π nonlinear phase shift as well as strong saturation of optical output power from a 4-mm Si-nanowire waveguide sample, and that indicates the possibility of constructing integrated nonlinear-optic wavelength conversion devices or optical limiters with Si-nanowire waveguides.
The tuning of the light propagation and localization properties in photonic crystal (PhC) slabs by using microactuators was demonstrated numerically and experimentally. A micromechanical actuator controls the position of the exterior structural element, which is located close to the PhC slab, and modulates the PhC properties through the change of the evanescent interaction of light confined in the PhC slab with the exterior element. When the exterior structural element approaches to a line-defect PhC waveguide, intensity and phase modulations occur. In the preliminary experiment using a line-defect PhC waveguide, we demonstrated the optical switching operation with an extinction ratio of ~10 dB at a wavelength of 1.55 μm. The localized state of light in a point-defect cavity can also be controlled. The tuning of the resonant wavelength over the spectral range of ~60nm at around the wavelength of 1.55 μm was numerically demonstrated by combining two PhC slabs. The approach discussed here can be widely employed for realizing functional and tunable PhC slab devices.
Micro-lightwave circuit technologies based on photonic crystal slabs were studied to realize integrated photonic node circuits for use in photonic networks. First, a unique optical multi-exposure technique, which is suitable for drawing large-area, two-dimensional, photonic crystal lattice patterns, is introduced here. The relationship between the resolved pattern size and the light-beam wavelength used for exposure is also discussed. Next, a high-density optical interconnection technique with photonic crystal line-defect waveguides and Si channel waveguides is introduced. A low-loss connection structure for both waveguides and their low bending loss characteristics are also discussed. Furthermore, slab-type, photonic crystal-based optical devices, such as channel-drop filters and optical switches, for constructing the photonic node circuits were proposed and their characteristics investigated by FDTD simulations. A high wavelength resolution for the filters and extremely small switching power for the optical switches were predicted. Before fabricating the optical switches, directional couplers based on photonic-crystal slabs were fabricated and the basic properties of complementary power splitting to two output ports were demonstrated. These results strongly support the possibility of realizing integrated photonic node circuits with photonic crystals.
We describe a method for precise pulse-repetition-frequency tuning of monolithic mode-locked laser diodes (MLLDs) by means of loss-induced change in the effective length of the distributed Bragg reflector. With this method, 39.8131-GHz (the SDH frequency) operation is achieved in a frequency tuning range of 1 GHz. The novel application of mode-locked laser diodes to all-optical clock extraction, one of the essential functions required in all-optical signal processing, is demonstrated at the 40-GHz SDH frequency.
Recent CATV network systems require high power (Po >= 20 mW), wide band (1 GHz) and low distortion light sources for use in high capacity network schemes. Furthermore, cost effective light sources are also needed for use in narrowing services. We have developed high performance, 1.3-micrometers partially corrugated waveguide laser diodes (PC-LDs) suitable for use in such CATV networks. The production yield of these PC-LDs with respect to low distortion specifications has been improved about three times over that of conventional distributed feedback (DFB) LDs, and this can be attributed to their characteristic of not being sensitive to grating phases as well as their flat electric field profile along the cavities. Excellent low distortion characteristics (a composite second-order distortion <EQ -60 dBc and a composite triple beat <EQ -70 dBc) for an 80-channel CATV specification were also realized for the PC-LDs over the wide power range of 10 approximately 30 mW by reducing junction capacitance of the current blocking layer. Intermodulation distortion in LDs caused by several nonlinear mechanisms was also investigated using a transfer- matrix method and an electric equivalent circuit model of LDs, taking electric field distribution along the cavity and leakage current that flows into the current blocking layer into account. Resonance oscillation and electric field nonuniformity related distortion are predominant in the lower light-output power region, while leakage current related distortion is dominant in the high-power region. Moreover, external optical feedback resistant characteristics of the PC-LDs were theoretically predicted and experimentally demonstrated. Optical feedback resistance of the PC-LDs was about ten times higher than that of conventional DFB-LDs due to their unique electric field profile along the cavity.
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