Realization of compact broadband optical diode in linear air-hole photonic crystal waveguide

In this paper, we present a compact broadband design for reciprocal optical diode in linear two-dimensional air-hole photonic crystal waveguide. The forward even-to-odd mode conversion and backward blockade of even mode are achieved by introducing the functional region with 1.2a×2.8a area. The inside dielectric distribution is obtained by finite element method combining geometry projection method and the method of moving asymptotes. In our design, only one asymmetrically deformed air hole locates in the functional region. The parabola-like unidirectionality keeps higher than 15dB within the operational bandwidth 0.01c/a (about 40nm when 1550nm is the center wavelength), and the maximum value reaches approximate 24 dB near the center frequency. Meanwhile, the forward transmission efficiency keeps higher than 89.9%. Moreover, the optical diode effect of the proposed design is validated in three-dimensional model and the tolerance of the imperfection in fabricating is demonstrated as well. This compact broadband optical diode can contribute to the all-optical integrated circuits.