Experimental and theoretical characterization of a lithium niobate photonic crystal

M. Roussey (1) , M.-P. Bernal (1) , N. Courjal (1) , F.I. Baida (1)

1 FEMTO-ST - Franche-Comté Électronique Mécanique, Thermique et Optique - Sciences et Technologies (UMR 6174)

In this letter, we investigate the feasibility of tunable lithium niobate (LiNbO3) photonic crystals. The optical response through a LiNbO3 photonic structure is theoretically determined in order to obtain a photonic band gap with optimal tunability. We show by means of a finite difference time domain simulation that the optimal lattice parameters can provide a Deltalambda=7 nm shift in the photonic band gap for a Deltan=0.01 variation of the refractive index with an extinction ratio of –22.5 dB. The fabrication process and the optical characterization of these novel photonic crystal structures are also reported. The extinction ratio of the measured photonic band gap is lower than –12 dB

Domaines: Optique / photonique

M. Roussey, M.-P. Bernal, N. Courjal, F.I. Baida. Experimental and theoretical characterization of a lithium niobate photonic crystal. Applied Physics Letters, 2005, 87, pp.241101-02. ⟨10.1063/1.2138348⟩. ⟨hal-00096486⟩