Slow-light dispersion engineering of photonic crystal waveguides using selective microfluidic infiltration

Abstract

We experimentally demonstrate dispersion engineering of slow light photonic crystal (PhC) waveguides using selective infiltration of the first two rows of air holes with high index ionic liquids. The infiltrated PhC waveguide exhibits a dispersion window of 3 nm with a nearly constant group velocity of ~c/80 that depends on the liquid physical properties. We investigate how the effective refractive index changes in time due to the dynamics of the liquids in the holes. This demonstration highlights the versatility, flexibility, and tunability offered by optofluidics in PhC circuits.