Nonlinear Propagation of Ultrashort Pulses in Two-Dimensional Silicon Photonic Bandgap Crystals

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The propagation of ultrashort pulses in photonic bandgap crystals (PBSs) is of high interest for future photonic circuits, which are expected to supplement electronic microchips. Of particular interest is the propagation of ultrashort pulses in PBCs, where the intensity-dependent refractive index compensates the dispersion, such that the pulse preserves its temporal shape (solitons). Further, for an optical switching of pulses it is important to study the mutual nonlinear interaction of such solitons. To get access to a much richer variety of solitons it is required to study PBCs with a dimension higher than one, e.g., PBCs which are at least two-dimensional. Our goal is the experimental investigation of ultrashort pulse propagation in two-dimensional PBCs. Using Si, two-dimensional photonic crystals will be manufactured. Intense, ultrashort (ps and fs), and wavelength tunable pulses from an infrared, synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator, will be focused through the PBCs to measure the spectrum, temporal shape and carrier phase of the transmitted pulses as a function of the input pulse parameters and direction of propagation. The results will be compared with theoretical modelling to unterstand the unterlying physics, to verify the existence of new solitons, and to pursue new schemes for switching of light by light.