Electrical tuning of refraction in a two–dimensional photonic crystal infilled with a liquid crystal
J.A. Reyes–Avendaño and P. Halevi
Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica, Apartado Postal 51, Puebla, Pue., México 72000, e–mail: areyes@inaoep.mx
Recibido el 11 de agosto de 2008
Aceptado el 24 de noviembre de 2008
Abstract
We study a novel electro–optic structure with potential applications for ray steering, optical multiplexers, logic gates or switches. Our idea is based on the electrical tuning of refraction in a two–dimensional photonic crystal infilled by a liquid–crystal, with a direct–current electric field applied parallel to the cylinders. Using a two–step homogenization process, we show that, for sufficiently low frequencies, this structure can be represented by two field–dependent effective refractive indices. We demonstrate that the direction of the ordinary and extraordinary refracted rays can be sensitively tuned by varying the magnitude of the applied field.
Keywords: Photonic crystals; liquid crystals; optical properties.
Resumen
Una nueva estructura electro–óptica con potenciales aplicaciones en el manejo de haces de luz, multiplexores ópticos, compuertas lógicas e interruptores ópticos es estudiada. Nuestra idea se basa en la sintonización eléctrica de la refracción en un cristal fotónico bidimensional infiltrado con cristal líquido y un campo eléctrico de corriente directa aplicado paralelamente a los cilindros. Usando un proceso de homogenización de dos pasos, mostramos que para frecuencias suficientemente bajas, esta estructura puede ser representada por dos índices de refracción efectivos dependientes del campo eléctrico aplicado. Demostramos que es posible sintonizar la dirección de los rayos refractados (ordinario y extraordinario) por medio de una variación en la magnitud del campo eléctrico.
Descriptores: Cristales fotónicos; cristales líquidos; propiedades ópticas.
PACS: 78.20.Bh; 78.20.Ci; 78.20.Fm; 78.20.Jp
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank J. A. Reyes–Cervantes for helpful interaction. This work was partially supported by the CONACYT project SEP–2004–C01–46425. Also, J. A. R.–A. wishes to acknowledge support by CONACYT of his graduate studies.
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