Cross-polarization mode coupling and exceptional points in photonic crystal slabs

Abstract

We study exceptional points that occur in photonic crystal slabs due to cross-polarization (TE-TM) mode coupling. To do this, we develop spatiotemporal coupled-mode theory that describes optical properties of photonic crystal slabs supporting TE and TM modes in the case of conical mount. The developed theory suggests that by tuning the in-plane wave numbers of the incident light one can make two modes of the structure coalesce, which results in an exceptional point. The developed theory provides simple analytical expressions for the exceptional point position and the line shape of the corresponding resonance. The parameters of the proposed model can be rigorously estimated by a numerical calculation of the S-matrix poles of the structure. We show that the proposed analytical model with the estimated parameters is in good agreement with the presented full-wave simulations.