Open AccessOn-demand ultrahigh-Q cavity formation and photon pinning via dynamic waveguide tuning
Author(s) -
Masaya Notomi,
Hideaki Taniyama
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.16.018657
Subject(s) - optics , refractive index , waveguide , photon , materials science , photonic crystal , modulation (music) , optoelectronics , wavelength , photonics , physics , acoustics
We show that ultrahigh-Q wavelength-sized cavities can be reconfigurably formed by local refractive index tuning of photonic-crystal mode-gap waveguides. We have found that Q can be extraordinarily high (approximately 5 x 10(9)), which is much higher than that of structure-modulated mode-gap cavities. Furthermore, the required index modulation is extremely small (Deltan/n approximately 10(-3)), which enables dynamic cavity formation by fast optical nonlinearity. We numerically show that traveling photons in a waveguide can be pinned by fast local index tuning.