Light modulation utilizing photonic crystal-based photoelastic elements with dual built-in defect

In this paper we analyze optical modulation by stress-sensitive active elements based on photonic crystals utilizing photoelasticity effects. Our approach is to utilize thin film sensitive elements with photonic bandgap on micromachined silicon diaphragms. We propose two designs, one of them based on 1D Bragg-type dielectric stacks and shaped using conventional photolithography, and the other utilizing nanolithography (scanning probe lithography) to build a photonic bridge structure. In both cases the properties of a built-in defect are modified by stress, resulting in a proportional decrease of the corresponding localized mode peak height. Conventional optical fibers are used for signal readout in our stress-sensitive all-optical modulators.