Photonic quasi-crystal based integrated optic devices

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Research activities in translationally symmetric photonic crystals have continuously increased since its conception in the late 1980s. Significant advances in theoretical analysis and applications have been made with numerous device designs proven in the laboratory environment. In the 1990s, the high rotationally symmetric photonic quasi-crystal made its debut and was shown to display the important properties of the translation symmetric counterparts. However they have received less attention as the theoretical tools required to thoroughly analyze the structures are still lacking and structure fabrication is more difficult. This research project is focused on advancing the photonic quasi-crystal know how through advancements in theoretical analysis, structure fabrication and device development. Theoretical advancements will follow along the lines of exploring the rotational symmetry properties of photonic quasi-crystals with the objective of linking a polar spectral decomposition with a polar band structure. Existing in-house developed simulation tools will be enhanced based on the theoretical advancements and chosen device configurations. In the fabrication of structures, the plan is to explore the production and characterization of photonic quasi-crystals in SOI, LiNbO3 and glass. These three substrates are selected for the following reasons, SOI provides a high dielectric contrast for photonic quasi-crystal structures and displays a high potential for next generation devices. LiNbO3 is a mature substrate technology showing several interesting optical properties such as birefringence and is electro-optic. LiNbO3 also retains a high dielectric contrast for photonic quasi-crystal structures. Glass provides a dielectric value compatible with the optical fiber technology and as such fiber-waveguide coupling is simpler. The high dielectric contrast is achieved by loading the glass waveguide with a thin high dielectric cladding. Structures fabricated will be characterized in the existing optical measurement laboratory and designs showing promising results will be configured into optical devices. A large portion of the SOI research will be conducted in collaboration with a researcher at the University of Arizona's Optical Sciences center.