Hybridization Improves Photonic Crystals

Combining different photonic crystal lattices greatly enhances the performance of optical devices based on the structures, report engineers at the University of Delaware in Newark. In the Dec. 1 issue of Applied Optics, they present simulations of photonic crystal beamsplitters that employ a square lattice and of ones that incorporate both a square and a hexagonal lattice.

Finite difference time-domain models of the devices revealed that replacing the square lattice with a hexagonal one in the splitter section increases the overall throughput efficiency from 50 to 90 percent. The team also investigated a four-way beamsplitter and a splitter and combiner device based on the heterostructures.