All-optical ultrafast tuning of two-dimensional silicon photonic crystals via free-carrier injection

Summary form only given. Photonic crystals are emerging as a potential disruptive technology for the coming decade. The functionality of photonic crystals could be dramatically enhanced by providing a means to tune their spectral properties. In the past, tunable photonic crystals have been demonstrated using liquid crystals to control the refractive index, for which the optimal response time is milliseconds. Recently, it was suggested that thermally injected free-carriers could be used to tune photonic crystals. Here we demonstrate an ultrafast, all-optical-tunable, two-dimensional photonic crystal, where control of band edge wavelength and absorption is achieved through optical free-carrier injection.