Reconfigurable(4, 6^(2)) and(4, 8^(2)) Archimedean plasma photonic crystals in dielectric barrier discharge

Archimedean photonic crystal has become a research area of great interest due to its various unique properties. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the realization of reconfigurable(4, 6^(2))and(4, 8^(2)) Archimedean plasma photonic crystals(APPCs) by use of dielectric barrier discharges in air. Dynamical control on both the macrostructures including the lattice symmetry and the crystal orientation, and the microstructures including the fine structures of scattering elements has been achieved. The formation mechanisms of APPCs are studied by time-resolved measurements together with numerical simulations. Large omnidirectional band gaps of APPCs have been obtained. The tunable topology of APPCs may offer new opportunities for fabricating multi-functional and highly-integrated microwave devices.

Topological edge and corner states of valley photonic crystals with zipper-like boundary conditions

We present a stable valley photonic crystal(VPC)unit cell with C_(3v)symmetric quasi-ring-shaped dielectric columns and realize its topological phase transition by breaking mirror symmetry.Based on this unit cell structure,topological edge states(TESs)and topological corner states(TCSs)are realized.We obtain a new type of wave transmission mode based on photonic crystal zipper-like boundaries and apply it to a beam splitter assembled from rectangular photonic crystals(PCs).The constructed beam splitter structure is compact and possesses frequency separation functions.In addition,we construct a box-shaped triangular PC structures with zipper-like boundaries and discover phenomena of TCSs in the corners,comparing its corner states with those formed by other boundaries.Based on this,we explore the regularities of the electric field patterns of TESs and TCSs,explain the connection between the characteristic frequencies and locality of TCSs,which helps better control photons and ensures low power consumption of the system.

Tunable topological edge state in plasma photonic crystals

In this study, we found a kind of edge state located at the interface between plasma photonic crystals(PPCs) and traditional photonic crystals, which depends on the property of the photonic band gap rather than the surface defect. Simulation and theoretical analysis show that by adjusting the plasma density, we can change the topological characteristics of the photonic band gap of PPCs. This makes it different from the photonic band gap of traditional PCs, and thus excites or closes the topological edge states. We further discussed the influence of plasma parameters on edge state characteristics, and the results showed that as the plasma density increased, the first photonic band gap(PBG) of the PPCs closed and then reopened, resulting in band inversion and a change in the PBG properties of the PPCs. We can control the generation of edge states through plasma and adjust the frequency and strength of the edge states. After the appearance of edge states, as the plasma density further increases, the first PBG of the PPCs will shift towards high frequencies and deepen. The frequency of edge states will shift towards higher frequencies, and their strength will also increase. We increased the first PBG depth of the PPCs by increasing the number of arrays and found that when the number of the PPCs arrays increased, only the intensity of the edge states would increase while the frequency remained unchanged. Therefore, flexible adjustment of edge state frequency and intensity can be achieved through plasma density and array quantity parameters. Our study demonstrates the properties of topological edge states in plasma photonic crystals, which we believe can provide some guidance for applications based on edge states.

Topological resonators based on hexagonal-star valley photonic crystals

In valley photonic crystals, topological edge states can be gained by breaking the spatial inversion symmetry without breaking time-reversal symmetry or creating pseudo-spin structures, making highly unidirectional light transmission easy to achieve. This paper presents a novel physical model of a hexagonal-star valley photonic crystal. Simulations based on the finite element method(FEM) are performed to investigate the propagation of TM polarized mode and its application to ring resonators. The results show that such a topologically triangular ring resonator exhibits an optimum quality factor Q of about 1.25×104, and Q has a maximum value for both frequency and the cavity length L. Our findings are expected to have significant implications for developing topological lasers and wavelength division multiplexers.

Nonreciprocal wide-angle bidirectional absorber based on one-dimensional magnetized gyromagnetic photonic crystals

We propose magnetized gyromagnetic photonic crystals(MGPCs)composed of indium antimonide(InSb)and yttrium iron garnet ferrite(YIGF)layers,which possess the properties of nonreciprocal wide-angle bidirectional absorption.Periodical defects in the MGPCs work as filters.Absorption bands(ABs)for the positive and negative propagations arise from the optical Tamm state and resonance in cavities respectively,and they prove to share no overlaps in the studied frequency range.Givenω=2.0138 THz,for the positive propagation,the ABs in the high-frequency range are localized in the interval between 0.66ωand 0.88ω.In the angular range,the ABs for the TE and TM waves reach 60°and 51°,separately.For the negative propagation,the ABs in the low-frequency range are localized in the interval between 0.13ωand 0.3ω.The AB s extend to 60°for the TE waves and 80.4°for the TM waves.There also exists a narrow frequency band in a lower frequency range.The relevant factors,which include the external temperature,the magnetic fields applied to the YIGF,the refractive index of the impedance matching layer,and the defect thickness,are adjusted to investigate the effects on the ABs.All the numerical simulations are based on the transfer matrix method.This work provides an approach to designs of isolators and so on.

Angular insensitive nonreciprocal ultrawide band absorption in plasma-embedded photonic crystals designed with improved particle swarm optimization algorithm

Using an improved particle swarm optimization algorithm(IPSO)to drive a transfer matrix method,a nonreciprocal absorber with an ultrawide absorption bandwidth and angular insensitivity is realized in plasma-embedded photonic crystals arranged in a structure composed of periodic and quasi-periodic sequences on a normalized scale.The effective dielectric function,which determines the absorption of the plasma,is subject to the basic parameters of the plasma,causing the absorption of the proposed absorber to be easily modulated by these parameters.Compared with other quasi-periodic sequences,the Octonacci sequence is superior both in relative bandwidth and absolute bandwidth.Under further optimization using IPSO with 14 parameters set to be optimized,the absorption characteristics of the proposed structure with different numbers of layers of the smallest structure unit N are shown and discussed.IPSO is also used to address angular insensitive nonreciprocal ultrawide bandwidth absorption,and the optimized result shows excellent unidirectional absorbability and angular insensitivity of the proposed structure.The impacts of the sequence number of quasi-periodic sequence M and collision frequency of plasma1ν1 to absorption in the angle domain and frequency domain are investigated.Additionally,the impedance match theory and the interference field theory are introduced to express the findings of the algorithm.

Spontaneous emission fromΛ-type three-level atom driven by bichromatic field in anisotropic double-band photonic crystals

The spontaneous emission property ofΛ-type three-level atom driven by the bichromatic field in the anisotropic double-band photonic crystal is calculated by n-times iteration method.The influence of different parameters on atomic spontaneous emission is studied,and the phenomena of atomic spontaneous emission are explained in the dressed state representation.It is found that the spontaneous emission spectra of the atom driven by the bichromatic field presents a multi-peak comb structure.The position of the emission peak is determined by the initial state of the atom,and the interval between the neighboring emission peaks is the detuningδof the bichromatic field.When the ratio between Rabi frequency intensity and the detuningδof the bichromatic field remains unchanged,the intensity of each emitted peak remains invariant.The spontaneously emitted peak can be annihilated in the band gap and enhanced near the band edge in the anisotropic photonic crystals.Meanwhile,we also observe the fluorescence quenching phenomenon in the spontaneous emission spectra.The research in this paper provides the theoretical guidance for the control of atomic spontaneous emission.

Valley-dependent topological edge states in plasma photonic crystals

Plasma photonic crystals designed in this paper are composed of gas discharge tubes to control the flow of electromagnetic waves.The band structures calculated by the finite element method are consistent with the experimental results which have two distinct attenuation peaks in the ranges of 1-2.5 GHz and 5-6 GHz.Electromagnetic parameters of the plasma are extracted by the Nicolson-Ross-Weir method and effective medium theory.The measured electron density is between 1×1011 cm-3 and1×1012 cm-3,which verifies the correctness of the parameter used in the simulation,and the collision frequency is near 1.5×1010 Hz.As the band structures are corroborated by the measured scattering parameters,we introduce the concept of photonic topological insulator based on the quantum Valley Hall effect into the plasma photonic crystal.A valley-dependent plasma photonic crystal with hexagonal lattice is constructed,and the phase transition of the valley K(K’)occurs by breaking the spatial inversion symmetry.Valley-spin locked topological edge states are generated and excited by chiral sources.The frequency of the non-bulk state can be dynamically regulated by the electron density.This concept paves the way for novel,tunable topological edge states.More interestingly,the Dirac cone is broken when the electron density increases to 3.1×1012 cm-3,which distinguishes from the methods of applying a magnetic field and changing the symmetry of the point group.

Tailoring topological corner states in photonic crystals by near-and far-field coupling effects

We explore the behaviors of optically coupled topological corner states in supercell arrays composed of photonic crystal rods,where each supercell is a second-order topological insulator.Our findings indicate that the coupled corner states possess nondegenerate eigenfrequencies at theΓpoint,with coupled dipole corner states excited resonantly by incident plane waves and displaying a polarization-independent characteristic.The resonance properties of coupled dipole corner states can be effectively modulated via evanescently near-field coupling,while multipole decomposition shows that they are primarily dominated by electric quadrupole moment and magnetic dipole moment.Furthermore,we demonstrate that these coupled corner states can form surface lattice resonances driven by diffractively far-field coupling,leading to a dramatic increase in the quality factor.This work introduces more optical approaches to tailoring photonic topological states,and holds potential applications in mid-infrared topological micro-nano devices.

Controllable and tunable plasma photonic crystals through a combination of photonic crystal and dielectric barrier discharge patterns

We report five types of patterns with square symmetry,including three novel types obtained by inserting a specially designed grid photonic crystal(PC)into a dielectric barrier discharge system.They are studied using an intensified charge-coupled device camera and photomultiplier tubes.The three novel types of patterns are a square pattern with one structure,a square superlattice pattern with four sublattices and a(1/4)K_(grid)(K_(grid)is the basic wave vector of the grid),and another square pattern with a complex inversion discharge sequence.From the application viewpoint,the five types of patterns can be used as plasma photonic crystals(PPCs).Their band diagrams under a transverse-magnetic wave simulated by the finite element method show that there are a large number of band gaps.Compared with the original PC with only a unidirectional band gap,the five types of PPCs have tunable and omnidirectional band gaps,which is very important in controlling the propagation of electromagnetic waves in the mm-wave region.The experimental results enrich the pattern types in the dielectric barrier discharge system and provide a method for obtaining PPCs with symmetry controllability and bandgap tunability.

Research Progress in Preparation and Application of Photonic Crystals

Photonic crystals are periodic structural materials that have an impact on the propagation properties of photons.Due to their excellent optical,electrical and magnetic properties,their advantages and potential for applications in the above areas are gradually emerging.Therefore,an increasing number of researchers have focused on photonic crystals.In this paper,the characteristics of biological photonic crystal structures,such as those found in butterfly wings,sea mouse bristles,peacock feathers,melon jellyfish epidermal cells,and weevil exoskeletons,are described.The preparation methods of photonic crystals are systematically summarized(including the template method,self-assembly technology,electron beam evaporation coating technology,chemical vapor deposition technology,femtosecond laser two-photon technology,spin coating technology,and a variety of technology mixing),and the characteristics,advantages,and disadvantages of the different methods are compared.Furthermore,the development of photonic crystals in the field of sensors,solar cells,filters,and infrared stealth is discussed,demonstrateing the great development potential of photonic crystals.It is concluded that the realization of photonic crystals with high precision,high sensitivity,angle independence,and large-area uniform preparation is a key problem requiring urgent solution.Moreover,photonic crystals have potential development prospects in the fields of equipment stealth,new concept weapons,production,an daily life.

Application of Padé Approximation in Simulating Photonic Crystals

To save finite-difference time-domain（FDTD） computing time, several methods are proposed to convert the time domain FDTD output into frequency domain. The Pad6 approximation with Baker＇s algorithm and the program are introduced to simulate photonic crystal structures. For a simple pole system with frequency 160THz and quality factor of 5000, the intensity spectrum obtained by the Padé approximation from a 2^8-item sequence output is more exact than that obtained by fast Fourier transformation from a 2^20-item sequence output. The mode frequencies and quality factors are calculated at different wave vectors for the photonic crystal slab from a much shorter FDTD output than that required by the FFT method, and then the band diagrams are obatined. In addition, mode frequencies and Q-factors are calculated for photonic crystal microcavity.

Modulation of Photonic Bandgap and Localized States by Dielectric Constant Contrast and Filling Factor in Photonic Crystals

The band structure of 2D photonic crystals (PCs) and localized states resulting from defects are analyzed by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique and Padé approximation.The effect of dielectric constant contrast and filling factor on photonic bandgap (PBG) for perfect PCs and localized states in PCs with point defects are investigated.The resonant frequencies and quality factors are calculated for PCs with different defects.The numerical results show that it is possible to modulate the location,width and number of PBGs and frequencies of the localized states only by changing the dielectric constant contrast and filling factor.

Theoretical study on the photonic band gap in one-dimensional photonic crystals with graded multilayer structure

We theoretically investigate the photonic band gap in one-dimensional photonic crystals with a graded multilayer structure. The proposed structure constitutes an alternating composite layer （metallic nanoparticles embedded in TiO2 film） and an air layer. Regarding the multilayer as a series of capacitance, effective optical properties are derived. The dispersion relation is obtained with the solution of the transfer matrix equation. With a graded structure in the composite layer, numerical results show that the position and width of the photonic band gap can be effectively modulated by varying the number of the graded composite layers, the volume fraction of nanoparticles and the external stimuli.

INVERSE OPALINE STRUCTURE TITANIA PHOTONIC CRYSTALS BY FUNCTIONALLY MODIFIED COLLOIDAL CRYSTALS TEMPLATING

Ordered macroporous titania photonic crystals （PCs） and photonic balls were fabricated by functional modified polymer colloidal crystals. The TiO2 PCs and balls formed through this method exhibit no cracks and lacunae in large areas on their surface and their inner structures.

Transmission Spectral Characteristics of Photonic Crystals Milled in Annealed Proton-Exchange LiNbO_3 Waveguide

Transmission spectra of triangular lattice photonic crystals milled in the top surface of an annealed proton- exchange waveguide are numerically simulated. The effects of the finite depth, conical shape, trapezoidal shape and hybrid shape of holes are theoretically analyzed. Due to the difficulty of milling high aspect-ratio cylindrical holes in lithium niobate （LiNbO3 ）, a compromised solution is proposed to improve the overlap between shallow holes and the waveguide mode, and useful transmission spectra with strong contrast and sharp band edges are achieved.

Band rules for the frequency spectra of three kinds of aperiodic photonic crystals with negative refractive index materials

By means of the theory of electromagnetic wave propagation and transfer matrix method, this paper investigates the band rules for the frequency spectra of three kinds of one-dimensional （1D） aperiodic photonic crystals （PCs）, generalized Fibonacci GF（p, 1）, GF（1,2）, and Thue Morse （TM） PCs, with negative refractive index （NRI） materials. It is found that all of these PCs can open a broad zero-n gap, TM PC possesses the largest zero-n gap, and with the increase of p, the width of the zero-n gap for GF（p, 1） PC becomes smaller. This characteristic is caused by the symmetry of the system and the open position of the zero-n gap. It is found that for GF（p, 1） PCs, the possible limit zero-n gaps open at lower frequencies with the increase of p, but for GF（1,2） and TM PCs, their limit zero-n gaps open at the same frequency. Additionally, for the tbree bottom-bands, we find the interesting perfect self-similarities of the evolution structures with the increase of generation, and obtain the corresponding subband-number formulae. Based on 11 types of evolving manners Qi （i = 1, 2,... , 11） one can plot out the detailed evolution structures of the three kinds of aperiodic PCs for any generation.

Relationship between group velocity and symmetry of photonic crystals

Group velocity （GV） of eigenmode is a crucial parameter to explain the extraordinary phenomena about light propagation in photonic crystals （PhCs）. To study relationships between group velocity and symmetry of PhCs, a new general expression of CV in PhCs made up of non-dispersive material is introduced. Based on this, the CVs of eigenmodes of PhCs, especially those of degenerate eigenmodes at highly symmetric points in the first Brillouin zone, are discussed. Some interesting results are obtained. For example, the summation of degenerate eigenmodes＇ CVs is invariant under the operations of wave vector K-group MK. In addition, some numerical results are presented to verify them.

The single-longitudinal-mode operation of a ridge waveguide laser based on two-dimensional photonic crystals

An electrically driven, single-longitudinal-mode GaAs based photonic crystal （PC） ridge waveguide （RWG） laser emitting at around 850 nm is demonstrated. The single-longitudinal-mode lasing characteristic is achieved by introducing the PC to the RWG laser. The triangle PC is etched on both sides of the ridge by photolithography and inductive coupled plasma （ICP） etching. The lasing spectra of the RWG lasers with and without the PC are studied, and the result shows that the PC purifies the longitudinal mode. The power per facet versus current and current-voltage characteristics have also been studied and compared.

Thermal tunable one-dimensional photonic crystals containing phase change material

To obtain the adjustable photonic crystals (PCs), we numerically investigate one-dimensional (1D) PCs with alternating VO2 and SiO2 layers through transfer matrix method. The dispersion relation agrees well with the transmittance obtained by the finite element calculation. Tunable band gaps are achieved with the thermal stimuli of VO2, which has two crystal structures. The monoclinic crystal structure VO2 (R) at low temperature exhibits insulating property, and the high temperature square rutile structure VO2 (M) presents metal state. Concretely, the bandwidth is getting narrower and red shift occurs with the higher temperature in VO2 (R)/SiO2 PCs structure. Based on the phase change characteristics of VO2, we can flexibly adjust the original structure as VO2 (R)/VO2 (M)/SiO2. By increasing the phase ratio of VO2 (R) to VO2 (M), the band gap width gradually becomes wider and blue shift occurs. The discrete layers of gradient composites on the dispersion of 1D PCs are also investigated, which enhances the feasibility in practical operation. Thus, our proposed thermal modulation PCs structure paves a new way to realize thermal tunable optical filters and sensors.