Model of thermo-optic nonlinear dynamics of photonic crystal cavities
Abstract
The wavelength scale confinement of light offered by photonic crystal (PhC) cavities is one of the fundamental features on which many important on-chip photonic components are based, opening silicon photonics to a wide range of applications from telecommunications to sensing. This trapping of light in a small space also greatly enhances optical nonlinearities and many potential applications build on these enhanced light-matter interactions. In order to use PhCs effectively for this purpose it is necessary to fully understand the nonlinear dynamics underlying PhC resonators. In this work, we derive a first principles thermal model outlining the nonlinear dynamics of optically pumped silicon two-dimensional (2D) PhC cavities by calculating the temperature distribution in the system in both time and space. We demonstrate that our model matches experimental results well and use it to describe the behavior of different types of PhC cavity designs. Thus, we demonstrate the model's capability to predict thermal nonlinearities of arbitrary 2D PhC microcavities in any material, only by substituting the appropriate physical constants. This renders the model critical for the development of nonlinear optical devices prior to fabrication and characterization.
Citation
Iadanza , S , Clementi , M , Hu , C , Schulz , S A , Gerace , D , Galli , M & O'Faolain , L 2020 , ' Model of thermo-optic nonlinear dynamics of photonic crystal cavities ' , Physical Review. B, Condensed matter and materials physics , vol. 102 , no. 24 , 245404 . https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.102.245404
Publication
Physical Review. B, Condensed matter and materials physics
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1098-0121Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2020 American Physical Society. This work has been made available online in accordance with publisher policies or with permission. Permission for further reuse of this content should be sought from the publisher or the rights holder. This is the final published version of the work, which was originally published at https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.102.245404.
Description
Funding: S.I., C.H., and L.O. acknowledge funding from the Science Foundation Ireland (17/QERA/3472, 12/RC/2276_P2) and in part by the European Research Council Starting Grant 337508 (DANCER) and under Grant 780240 (REDFINCH). M.C., D.G., and M.G. acknowledge the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (H2020) through the QuantERA ERA-NET Cofund in Quantum Technologies, project CUSPIDOR, co-funded by Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca (MIUR), and MIUR through the “Dipartimenti di Eccellenza Program (2018-2022)”, Department of Physics, University of Pavia.Collections
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