Properties Of Photonic Crystals Research Articles

Robust Topological Edge States in C6 Photonic Crystals

The study of photonic crystals has emerged as an attractive area of research in nanoscience in the last years. In this work, we study the properties of a two-dimensional photonic crystal composed of dielectric rods. The unit cell of the system is composed of six rods organized on the sites of a C6 triangular lattice. We induce a topological phase by introducing an angular perturbation ϕ in the pristine system. The topology of the system is then determined by using the so-called k.p perturbed model. Our results show that the system presents a topological and a trivial phase, depending on the sign of the angular perturbation ϕ. The topological character of the system is probed by evaluating the electromagnetic energy density and analyzing its distribution in the real space, in particular on the maximal Wyckoff points. We also find two edge modes at the interface between the trivial and topological photonic crystals, which present a pseudospin topological behavior. By applying the bulk-edge correspondence, we study the pseudospin edge modes and conclude that they are robust against defects, disorder and reflection. Moreover, the localization of the edge modes leads to the confinement of light and the interface behaves as a waveguide for the propagation of electromagnetic waves. Finally, we show that the two edge modes present energy flux propagating in opposite directions, which is the photonic analogue of the quantum spin Hall effect.

Research and Application Progress of Inverse Opal Photonic Crystals in Photocatalysis

In order to solve the problem of low photocatalytic efficiency in photocatalytic products, researchers proposed a method to use inverse opal photonic crystal structure in photocatalytic materials. This is due to a large specific surface area and a variety of optical properties of the inverse opal photonic crystal, which are great advantages in photocatalytic performance. In this paper, the photocatalytic principle and preparation methods of three-dimensional inverse opal photonic crystals are introduced, including the preparation of basic inverse opal photonic crystals and the photocatalytic modification of inverse opal photonic crystals, and then the application progresses of inverse opal photonic crystal photocatalyst in sewage purification, production of clean energy and waste gas treatment are introduced.

Influence of nonlinear semiconductor layer on optical properties in one-dimensional photonic crystals

In this paper, an attempt has been made to investigate a one-dimensional photonic crystal containing N-doped germanium semiconductor as a nonlinear defect layer with an intensity-dependent refractive index, silica (SiO2) and zinc selenide (ZnSe) as crystal cells. Bistability of the TE polarization of the transmission spectrum due to the nonlinear property of the defect layer is investigated by the transfer matrix method (TMM). The refractive index of the germanium nonlinear semiconductor layer is simultaneously depending on the doping density and the intensity of the irradiated light. The changes in both factors are investigated. The impact on the transmission spectrum of the bistability threshold due to the change in the thickness of the defect layer, the thickness of other layers of crystal cells, and the angle of incident light are investigated. The nonlinear effect caused by light intensity as well as doped density effect on the germanium nonlinear semiconductor medium is used simultaneously. As a result, the nonlinear effect caused by the light intensity to create bistability is more than the doping density.

Engineerable wavevector diagrams of non-Moiré geometry-based photonic crystals for beam steering applications

The wavevector diagrams or eigenfrequency contours (EFCs) (also called dispersion surfaces) are the best tools to explore the optical properties of photonic crystals (PhCs). Many optical phenomena, such as self-collimation, super-prism, negative refraction, and lensing, have been extensively explored in PhCs based on EFCs. Also, several approaches have been continuingly pursued to modulate the EFCs of PhCs for molding the flow of light. This work presents the modulated wavevector diagrams of PhCs formed by asymmetric non-Moiré (NM) patterns. The NM patterns are contours of trigonometric functions that generate attractive tiles and shapes. Employing such shapes to design a PhC tailors the dispersion of PhCs with stretching, squeezing, and shape-modulated EFCs. Based on the modulated EFCs of the proposed structures, we demonstrate the direction-dependent beam steering phenomenon. The ray tracing, full-wave electromagnetic simulations, far-field patterns, and electric field profiles corroborate the beam steering application of the modulated EFCs. We anticipate that the modulated EFCs of non-Moiré pattern-based PhCs are useful for reconfigurable wave optics and beam steering applications.

Photonic Crystal Films Based on Polymer Particles with a Core/Shell Structure Responding to Ethanol.

Responsive photonic crystals assembled from colloidal particles have been increasingly utilized in detection and sensing devices owing to their attractive ability to change color in response to external conditions. Methods of semi-batch emulsifier-free emulsion and seed copolymerization are successfully applied for the synthesis of monodisperse submicron particles with a core/shell structure, a core being formed by polystyrene or poly(styrene-co-methyl methacrylate) and a shell being formed by poly(methyl methacrylate-co-butyl acrylate). The particle shape and diameter are analyzed by the dynamic light scattering method and scanning electron microscopy, and the composition is investigated by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. As shown by scanning electron microscopy and optical spectroscopy, the thin-film 3D-ordered structures based on poly(styrene-co-methyl methacrylate)@poly(methyl methacrylate-co-butyl acrylate) particles exhibited the properties of photonic crystals with minimum number of defects. For polymeric photonic crystal structures based on core/shell particles, a pronounced solvatochromism with respect to ethanol vapor (less than 10 vol %) is observed. Moreover, the nature of the crosslinking agent has a significant effect on the solvatochromic properties of 3D-ordered films.

2D Gallium Sulfide-Based 1D Photonic Crystal Biosensor for Glucose Concentration Detection

Unidimensional photonic crystal-based biosensors have gained much attention in the area of blood glucose measurement. In this paper, we propose two novel designs based on two-dimensional (2D) Van der Waals materials. The first 1D photonic crystal design consists of multilayers of 2D gallium sulfide and 2D muscovite mica [GaS/Mica]ND[GaS/Mica]N, and the second design consists of multilayers of 2D gallium sulfide [GaS/G]ND[GaS/G]N. We conducted a numerical analysis using the transfer matrix method to investigate the properties of photonic crystals, both with and without defect layers, in order to assess their suitability for biosensing applications. The biosensors’ performances were investigated as a function of glucose concentration, revealing a high sensitivity of 832 nm/RIU, a notable figure-of-merit of 1.46 × 105 RIU−1, a Q-factor exceeding 105, and a minimum limit of detection of 3.4 × 10−7 RIU. Finally, we modified the [GaS/G]ND[GaS/G]Nstructure in order to enhance the sensitivity nearly 5-fold. The proposed biosensors offer the advantage of being label-free, making them promising platforms for the sensitive and reliable detection of blood glucose levels.

Design and Performance Analysis of Perovskites Unidimensional Photonic Crystal-Based Biosensors for Extracellular Vesicles Detection: A Numerical Investigation

In recent years, unidimensional photonic crystal-based biosensors have attracted significant attention due to their potential for label-free bio-detection of cells, proteins, and other organic molecules. These biosensors are based on alternating materials with different refractive indices and a cavity region in which biomolecules can be injected. In this study, we investigated numerically the optical properties of unidimensional photonic crystals based on [LiTaO3/MgF2], [LiTaO3/SiO2], [PbTiO3/MgF2], and [PbTiO3/SiO2] heterostructures, and focused our discussion on the detection of four kinds of extracellular vesicles. Our results demonstrated that the [PbTiO3/MgF2] photonic crystal biosensor exhibited the best biosensing performance, with a maximum value of the sensitivity of 511.3 nm/RIU. This study provides valuable insights into the use of perovskites materials, in particular, LiTaO3 and PbTiO3 for photonic crystal-based biosensors for various applications, including disease diagnosis and monitoring therapy responses.

Tunable Photonic Band Gaps in Two-Dimensional Bravais–Moiré Photonic Crystal Composed of High-Tc Superconductors

In this study, we perform a theoretical study of light propagation properties in two-dimensional square photonic crystals (PCs) following Bravais–Moiré (BM) patterns composed of copper oxide high-temperature superconductors (HTSCs). The BM PCs are made of cylindrical cores formed from the combination of two square Bravais lattices. The Moiré pattern forms due to a commensurable rotation of one of these lattices with respect to the other. The dielectric function of the superconducting material is modeled by the two-fluid Gorter–Casimir theory. We report on the corresponding gap, the mapping as a function of the radius of dielectric cores, as well as the dispersion relations of TM modes for BM PCs and for the waveguide system built of defect lines within such a crystal. The BM PCs were composed of copper oxide HTSCs, which exhibit large tunability in terms of temperature.

Tuning the Luminescence Response of an Air-Hole Photonic Crystal Slab Using Etching Depth Variation.

Detailed studies of the luminescent properties of the Si-based 2D photonic crystal (PhC) slabs with air holes of various depths are reported. Ge self-assembled quantum dots served as an internal light source. It was obtained that changing the air hole depth is a powerful tool which allows tuning of the optical properties of the PhC. It was shown that increasing the depth of the holes in the PhC has complex influences on its overall photoluminescence (PL) response due to the simultaneous influences of counteracting factors. As a result, the maximal increase in the PL signal of more than two orders of magnitude was obtained for some intermediate, but not full, depth of the PhC's air holes. It was demonstrated that it is possible to engineer the PhC band structure in such a way as to construct specific states, namely bound states in continuum (BIC), with specially designed dispersion curves being relatively flat. In this case, such states manifest themselves as sharp peaks in the PL spectra, and have high Q-factors which are larger than those of radiative modes and other BIC modes without such a flat dispersion characteristic.

Optical properties of chiral three-dimensional photonic crystals

We perform a theoretical and numerical study of the optical properties of both direct and inverse three-dimensional (3D) chiral woodpile structures and a corresponding chiral Bragg stack, also known as a Reusch pile. We compute transmission spectra in the helical direction for finite crystals and photonic band structures, where we ensure the effective index of all structures to be the same. We find that both 3D structures show dual-band circular dichroism, where light with a particular circular polarization state---either left- or right-handed---reveals a broad stop band with major attenuation, whereas the other polarization state is transmitted nearly unimpeded. We observe such gaps in different frequency ranges with alternating handedness. The appearance of the circular-polarized gaps is successfully interpreted with a physical model wherein the circular polarization either corotates or counterrotates with the chiral structure, thereby effectively leading to a spatially dependent or a constant refractive index, and thus to the presence or absence of a gap. We find that the presence or absence of circularly polarized gaps is tuned by the transverse periods perpendicular to the chiral axis in both the 3D direct and inverse chiral woodpile crystal structures. The tunability of circular dichroism may find applications as on-chip sensors for circularly polarized light and in the on-chip detection of chiral molecules.

Metasurface-based realization of photonic time crystals.

Photonic time crystals are artificial materials whose electromagnetic properties are uniform in space but periodically vary in time. The synthesis of these materials and experimental observation of their physics remain very challenging because of the stringent requirement for uniform modulation of material properties in volumetric samples. In this work, we extend the concept of photonic time crystals to two-dimensional artificial structures-metasurfaces. We demonstrate that time-varying metasurfaces not only preserve key physical properties of volumetric photonic time crystals despite their simpler topology but also host common momentum bandgaps shared by both surface and free-space electromagnetic waves. On the basis of a microwave metasurface design, we experimentally confirmed the exponential wave amplification inside a momentum bandgap and the possibility to probe bandgap physics by external (free-space) excitations. The proposed metasurface serves as a straightforward material platform for realizing emerging photonic space-time crystals and as a realistic system for the amplification of surface-wave signals in future wireless communications.

Anodizing aluminum in a viscous electrolyte to produce one-dimensional photonic crystals

In the paper, the possibility to produce anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) featuring one-dimensional photonic crystal along the normal to the surface is shown. The AAO structure is represented by alternating layers of different porosity and is formed in a viscous electrolyte based on sulfuric acid and ethylene glycol at the periodically varying from high (1.8 mA/cm2) to low (0.4 mA/cm2) current density with a rectangular pulse shape. The pore sizes and interpore distance, pore density and porosity, thickness and period of the AAO structure have been determined. The specular reflection spectra features for single layers that make up the AAO structure and for one-dimensional photonic crystals structures consisting of 165 periods have been studied. An increase in the porosity of the upper layers of the structure due to chemical etching of the pores during the oxide growth is noted. It is shown that the invariance of the spectral position of the photonic band gap for AAO structures is achieved by a 0.1 % decrease in charge at each subsequent anodizing cycle during their formation, which leads to a decrease in the period of the structure in the lower layers, compensating for the increase in the upper layers porosity. The reflection spectra have been analyzed for the incidence angles of 10° and 30° and used to calculate the period of the structure and the effective refractive index. The effective refractive index of the single layers that make up the AAO structure is calculated using the optical Fabry–Perot oscillations. For AAO with the properties of one-dimensional photonic crystal, a green color is observed at normal light incidence, and an iridescent color is observed when the angle changes. AAO can be used as a decorative coating on the housings of electronic devices (tablets, laptops, phones, etc.) and when creating design objects made of aluminum and its alloys.

The absorption properties of one-dimensional spherical photonic crystals based on plasma material

The first theoretical treatment of the electromagnetic properties of one-dimensional plasma spherical photonic crystals (1D PSPCs) in the non-magnetized state is carried out to obtain the expressions for the electric and magnetic fields. The utilization of the transfer matrix method provides a new idea for the exploration of the 1D PSPCs, based on which the expressions for the absorptance of the 1D PSPCs are derived. A structure of quasi-periodic 1D PSPCs arranged according to the Thue-Morse sequence is proposed to acquire the ultra-wide absorption bands (ABs) at large incidence angles by adding an air layer and setting the plasma frequency in a gradient. And the factors affecting the ABs are meticulously analyzed. It is figured out that the primary factors affecting ABs are topology and plasma frequency, both of which have vigoroso influences on the bandwidths and positions of ABs. However, the initial radius and the collision frequency prevailingly affect the amplitude of the absorptance. The unexceptionable geometric properties of the 1D PSPCs make them sensitive to parameter changes and can be applied in the field of absorbers and radomes, which have great application prospects and development space.

Tunable Second‐Order Topological States in Rhombic Photonic Crystals

Topological photonic devices with dynamically tunable functions are highly on demand in practice, but the majority of previously proposed photonic systems have been limited to fixed performances, once fabricated. Although several approaches have been proposed for obtaining the tunability in topological photonic systems, they are limited to first‐order topological states and require rather complicated structures. Herein, second‐order topological properties of rhombic photonic crystals (PCs) are revealed, for the first time, enabling to realize tunable photonic devices. For this purpose, the conventional square lattice PCs composed of four rigid dielectric rods are reshaped to rhomboid ones with preserved inversion symmetry, which exhibit well‐quantized bulk polarizations. Since the eigenfrequencies of topological edge and corner states depend on the angle between the neighboring sides of unit cells, the second‐order topological systems exhibit dynamic tunability, being useful for diverse applications such as optical switching and flexible beam control. Unlike the previous results for reconfigurable routing limited to special angles, this lattice‐reshaping mechanism has the ability to realize dynamically tunable routing, extending the realm of applications of topological photonics. For its simplicity and feasibility, this mechanical lattice‐reshaping approach paves the way toward higher‐order topological photonic devices with dynamically controlled functions.

Portable Comestible-Liquid Quality Test Enabled by Stretchable and Reusable Ion-Detection Photonic Papers.

Currently, there have been widespread investigation conducted into responsive photonic crystal hydrogels (RPCHs) characterized by high selectivity and sensitivity for colorimetric indicators and physical/chemical sensors. In spite of this, it remains challenging to use RPCHs for sensing due to their limited mechanical property and molding capability. In the present study, a double-network structure is proposed to design highly stretchable, sensitive, and reusable ion-detection photonic papers (IDPPs) for assessing the quality of visual and portable comestible liquids (e.g., soy sauce). It is constructed by integrating polyacrylamide and poly-methacryloxyethyl trimethyl ammonium chloride with highly ordered polystyrene microspheres. The double-network structure improves the mechanical properties of IDPPs with their elongation at break increasing from 110 to 1600%. Meanwhile, the optical properties of photonic crystals are retained. The IDPPs achieve a fast ion response by applying control on the swelling behavior of the hydration radius of the counter ions through ion exchange. Given a certain concentration range (0.01-0.10 M), chloride ions can be detected fast (3-30 s) by exchanging ions with a small hydration radius through an IDPP, which is clearly observable. Due to the improvement of mechanical properties and the reversible exchange of ions derived from IDPPs, their reusability is significantly enhanced (>30 times). Characterized by a simple operation, high durability, and excellent sustainability, these IDPPs are promising for practical application in food security and human health assessment.

Transmission properties in Fibonacci quasi-periodic photonic crystal containing negative-zero-positive index metamaterials

The transmission properties in Fibonacci quasi-periodic photonic crystals containing negative-zero-positive index metamaterials (NZPIM) are investigated systematically. Because of linear dispersion, an asymmetric band gap appears near the optical Dirac point (DP) only at an oblique incidence. Zero- gaps and Bragg gaps exist when the refractive indexes of NZPIM are negative and positive, respectively. We also obtain gaps induced by total reflection on both sides of the DP gap. The corresponding Goos-Hänchen (GH) shifts and phase variations are also demonstrated in detail. It is shown that the characteristics of the band gaps, GH shifts, and phase variations depend crucially on the incident angle, number of periods, and layer thickness.

Field programmable topological edge array

Valley Hall topological photonic crystals, inspired by topological insulators in condensed matter physics, have provided a promising solution to control the flow of light. Recently, the dynamic manipulation property of topological photonic crystals has been widely studied. Here, we propose a novel solution for programmable valley photonic crystals, called field programmable topological edge array (FPTEA), based on the field reorientation property of nematic liquid crystals and robust valley-protected edge modes. FPTEA is composed of an array of graphene-like lattices with C3 symmetry, in which the birefringence of liquid crystal is larger than 0.5105. Due to the dielectric anisotropy of liquid crystals being sensitive to external fields such as light, heat, electric, and magnetic fields, each lattice is tunable, and the topological propagation routes and even the lattice parameters can be dynamically changed while changing the distribution of external fields. We numerically demonstrate three methods of composing an FPTEA device to design arbitrary passive optical devices by electric driving, thermal inducing, or UV writing. These results show the great application potential of liquid crystals in topological photonic crystals, and enrich the design of programmable integrated topological devices with broad working bandwidth ranging from microwave to visible light.

Investigation of photonic band gap properties of one-dimensional magnetized plasma spherical photonic crystals

Utilizing the transfer matrix method (TMM), the magnetic and electric field equations of Maxwell’s system of equations in the spherical coordinate system are constructed. By combining the solution of the spherical Bessel equation to theoretically treat the magnetic and electric fields of a one-dimensional (1-D) magnetized plasma spherical photonic crystals (MPSPCs), detailed expressions for the transmission properties and dispersion relations of 1-D MPSPCs are obtained. The structure of 1-D MPSPCs is also designed, and the effects of the cyclotron frequency of plasma, incidence angle, collision frequency, plasma frequency, structure, dissipation factor and plasma thickness on the photonic band gaps (PBGs) features are discussed. With the adjustment of these parameters, the impact of the collision frequency on the transmission properties is extraordinarily insignificant. The plasma frequency and the cyclotron frequency of plasma have quite similar effects on the PBGs. The variation of incidence angle and plasma frequency thickness affects not only the position of PBGs but also the amount of them. The difference in structure and the change in dissipation factor have no effect on the distribution of PBGs and only a slight effect on the amplitude of the transmission spectra.

Asymmetrical Dimer Photonic Crystals Enabling Outstanding Optical Sensing Performance.

The exploration of the propensity of engineered materials to bring forward innovations predicated on their periodic nanostructured tailoring rather than the features of their individual compounds is a continuous pursuit that has propelled optical sensors to the forefront of ultra-sensitive bio-identification. Herein, a numerical analysis based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) was used to investigate and optimize the optical properties of a unidirectional asymmetric dimer photonic crystal (PhC). The proposed device has many advantages from a nanofabrication standpoint compared to conventional PhCs sensors, where integrating defects within the periodic array is imperative. The eigenvalue and transmission analysis performed indicate the presence of a protected, confined mode within the structure, resulting in a Fano-like response in the prohibited states. The optical sensor demonstrated a promising prospect for monitoring the DNA hybridization process, with a quality factor (QF) of roughly 1.53×105 and a detection limit (DL) of 4.4×10-5 RIU. Moreover, this approach is easily scalable in size while keeping the same attributes, which may potentially enable gaze monitoring.

Study on the Preparation and Optical Properties of Graphene Oxide@Fe3O4 Two-Dimensional Magnetically Oriented Nanocomposites.

In this work, graphene oxide@Fe3O4 (GO@Fe3O4) two-dimensional magnetically oriented nanocomposites were prepared through the co-precipitation approach using graphene oxide as the carrier and FeCl3·6H2O and FeSO4·7H2O as iron sources. The samples were characterized and tested by X-ray diffraction, a transmission electron microscope, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, a vibrating-specimen magnetometer, a polarized optical microscope, an optical microscope, etc. The effects of material ratios and reaction conditions on the coating effects of Fe3O4 on the GO surface were investigated. The stable GO@Fe3O4 sol system was studied and constructed, and the optical properties of the GO@Fe3O4 sol were revealed. The results demonstrated the GO@Fe3O4 two-dimensional nanocomposites uniformly coated with Fe3O4 nanoparticles were successfully prepared. The GO@Fe3O4 two-dimensional nanocomposites exhibited superparamagnetic properties at room temperature, whose coercive force was 0. The stable GO@Fe3O4 sol system could be obtained by maintaining 1 < pH < 1.5. The GO@Fe3O4 sol showed magneto-orientation properties, liquid crystalline properties, and photonic crystal properties under the influence of the external magnetic field. The strength and direction of the magnetic field and the solid content of the GO@ Fe3O4 sol could regulate the aforementioned properties. The results suggest that GO@Fe3O4 two-dimensional magnetically oriented nanocomposites have potential applications in photonic switches, gas barriers, and display devices.