Compact Optical Switches and Modulators Based on Dispersion Engineered Photonic Crystals

IEEE Photonics Journal

Liam O'Faolain¹  Tobias Kampfrath²  Kobus Kuipers³  Thomas P. White⁴  Thomas F. Krauss⁴  Daryl M. Beggs⁴ 

[1] $^{1}$School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, St. Andrews, U.K.;$^{2}$FOM Institute AMOLF, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;FOM Inst. AMOLF, Amsterdam, Netherlands;Sch. of Phys. & Astron., Univ. of St Andrews, St. Andrews, UK;

关键词: Engineered photonic nanostructures;    ultrafast nonlinear processes;    nonlinear effects;    slow light;    silicon nanophotonics;    photonic crystals;   

DOI  :  10.1109/JPHOT.2010.2047918

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

We use slow-light photonic crystals to enhance optical switching and modulation in silicon. By using dispersion-engineered designs, a switch as short as 5 ¿m was achieved, in which we have demonstrated rerouting of optical pulses on a 3-ps time scale through the absorption of a femtosecond pulse. We additionally demonstrate a modulator with a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) configuration with flat-band slow-light photonic crystal phase shifters that is designed to give a large group-index-bandwidth product. An extinction ratio in excess of 15 dB is obtained over the entire 11-nm bandwidth of the modulator.

【 授权许可】

Unknown