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Fabrication And Characterization Of Photonic Crystal Slow Light Waveguides And Cavities
Published on: November 30, 2012
Ultrafast tunable optical delay line based on indirect photonic transitions
Daryl M Beggs1, Isabella H Rey, Tobias Kampfrath
1FOM Institute AMOLF, Science Park 104, 1098XG Amsterdam, The Netherlands. beggs@amolf.nl
Physical Review Letters
|September 26, 2012
Summary
Researchers developed a new method using indirect photonic transitions to control optical pulse delays. This technique allows for tunable delays up to 20 picoseconds on an ultrafast timescale using a short photonic crystal waveguide.
Area of Science:
- Photonics
- Optical Engineering
- Quantum Optics
Background:
- Controlling optical pulse propagation is crucial for advanced optical systems.
- Existing methods for optical delay lines often face limitations in speed, tunability, or size.
- Photonic crystal waveguides offer unique properties for light manipulation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and demonstrate the concept of an indirect photonic transition.
- To utilize this concept for creating a dynamic delay line for optical pulses.
- To achieve ultrafast, tunable, and independent control over optical pulse delays.
Main Methods:
- Implementation of a two-step indirect photonic transition.
- Utilizing a slow light photonic crystal waveguide (300 μm length).
- Demonstration of independent control over individual pulses in a pulse stream.
Main Results:
- Achieved continuously tunable delays of up to 20 picoseconds (ps).
- Operated on an ultrafast timescale, controlling pulses separated by 30 ps.
- Demonstrated a 30% conversion efficiency for the indirect transition.
Conclusions:
- The indirect photonic transition is a viable method for dynamic optical delay lines.
- This approach enables flexible and independent control of optical pulses at high speeds.
- The demonstrated technique offers significant potential for future optical signal processing and communication systems.
