Title: Dynamic tuning of slow light transmission in manual nanostructure photonic crystal waveguide

Authors: Changhong Li, Huiping Tian, Hui Lu, Yuefeng Ji

Addresses: School of Telecommunication Engineering, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, Ministry of Education, P.O. Box 128, BUPT, No. 10, Xitucheng Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100876, P.R. China. ' School of Telecommunication Engineering, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, Ministry of Education, P.O. Box 128, BUPT, No. 10, Xitucheng Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100876, P.R. China. ' School of Telecommunication Engineering, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, Ministry of Education, P.O. Box 128, BUPT, No. 10, Xitucheng Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100876, P.R. China. ' School of Telecommunication Engineering, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, Ministry of Education, P.O. Box 128, BUPT, No. 10, Xitucheng Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100876, P.R. China

Abstract: Dynamical and external tuning of the slow light transmission by thermo-optic effect in two dimensional photonic crystal waveguide has been investigated. By varying the temperature of photonic crystal waveguide constructed in thermo-optic material of silicon, the band diagram of this nanostructure can be modulated. The frequency range of photonic band gap and single guided mode will be shifted. The shift of slow guided mode in PBG can be utilised to adjust the guided mode states between cut off and turn on externally and dynamically. Besides states tuning of slow mode, the property of thermo-optic can also be used to select the slow mode with requisite frequency. In additionally, with the increasing of temperature, the group velocity at identical wavelength of the slow guided mode will be decreased for several times at the capability of group velocity tuning at determinate same time. This type of behaviour clearly provides the frequency by dynamically and externally changing the temperature. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to investigate the controllable slow light in photonic crystal line waveguide. This thermo-optic effect can be used to resolve the external command of optical delay line and optical memories, which is crucial and have not been realised in real application.

Keywords: nanotechnology; photonic crystals; slow light; optical delay line; thermo-optical effect; dynamic control; dynamic tuning; nanostructures; photonic crystal waveguide; nanoelectronics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNT.2009.025309

International Journal of Nanotechnology, 2009 Vol.6 No.7/8, pp.715 - 722

Published online: 18 May 2009 *

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