Low modal volume dipole-like dielectric slab resonator

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Miniaturization of optical resonators is crucial for integrated photonic circuits.
• Achieving ultra-small modal volumes is a key challenge in photonic device design.
• Existing resonator designs face trade-offs between light confinement and quality factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and analyze a novel silicon planar resonator geometry.
• To achieve an ultra-small modal volume below 0.01 (lambda/2n)^3.
• To compare the proposed resonator with existing designs for confinement and quality factor trade-offs.

Main Methods:

• Numerical simulation of a novel silicon planar resonator geometry.
• Analysis of electric field discontinuities within the resonator.
• Comparison with 1D and 2D photonic crystal resonators.

Main Results:

• Demonstration of a silicon planar resonator with a modal volume of 0.01 (lambda/2n)^3.
• The novel geometry induces strong electric field discontinuities.
• Trade-off analysis between confinement and quality factors for different resonator types.

Conclusions:

• The proposed geometry offers superior light confinement compared to conventional resonators.
• This novel resonator design holds promise for advanced photonic applications.
• Further research can explore fabrication and experimental validation of the proposed structure.