Properties and applications of 1D and 2D photonic-crystals

Summary form only given. Photonic crystals (PhCs) have evoked much research interest in recent years, since their wavelength-scale periodic nature allows us to manipulate light in a way that has not been possible in conventional (not periodically structured) materials. Their extraordinary features include: negative refraction, making it possible to focus beams without traditional lenses; super-resolution diffraction that can be used for wavelength demultiplexing; super sensitivity to the angle of incidence, offering efficient ways of beam steering, omnidirectional mirrors; highly directional emission, utilized for super-efficient light emitting diodes. The possibility of high state density and the associated slow modes in PhC waveguides strongly enhance light interaction with a medium and are considered for realizing nonlinear and active devices with efficiency increased by orders of magnitude. Unique dispersion properties of PhC waveguides can also be utilized for realizing very narrow band optical filters. Most of the peculiar features already occur in one-dimensional (1D) photonic crystals. The talk summarises the properties of 1D and 2D PhCs from the point of view of their potential applications for optical integrated devices, and reviews the related research at the Royal Institute of Technology of Sweden on different PhC components.