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A Photonic System for Generating Unconditional Polarization-Entangled Photons Based on Multiple Quantum Interference
Published on: September 5, 2019
Self-collimating photonic crystal polarization beam splitter.
V Zabelin1, L A Dunbar, N Le Thomas
1Institut de Photonique et d'Electronique Quantique, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Station 3, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Optics Letters
|March 30, 2007
Summary
This study introduces a novel photonic crystal (PhC) polarization splitter. The device efficiently separates TM-polarized light transmission from TE-polarized light reflection, minimizing diffraction losses.
Area of Science:
- Photonics
- Optical Engineering
- Materials Science
Background:
- Polarization splitters are crucial optical components.
- Existing devices often suffer from diffraction losses and complex optimization.
- Photonic crystals offer unique light manipulation properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and validate a polarization splitter based on a photonic crystal (PhC) slab.
- To minimize in-plane diffraction losses at the interface between the PhC and non-PhC regions.
- To decouple the optimization of the interface from the polarizing function.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical modeling and experimental validation of the PhC polarization splitter.
- Utilizing a PhC slab with distinct reflection (TE) and transmission (TM) coefficients.
- Embedding the polarizing slab within a self-collimating PhC tile with identical lattice symmetry.
Main Results:
- Achieved high transmission for TM-polarized light (up to 35%).
- Reported significant reflection for TE-polarized light (up to 30%).
- Demonstrated suppression of in-plane diffraction losses through PhC embedding.
Conclusions:
- The proposed PhC polarization splitter effectively separates light polarizations.
- Embedding the polarizing slab in a self-collimating PhC enhances performance by reducing losses.
- This design simplifies optimization by decoupling interface and polarizing function.
