Abstract:We report the first experimental demonstration of a TEpolarization photonic band gap (PBG) in a 2D isotropic hyperuniform disordered solid (HUDS) made of dielectric media with a dielectric index contrast of 1.6:1, very low for PBG formation. The solid is composed of a connected network of dielectric walls enclosing air-filled cells. Direct comparison with photonic crystals and quasicrystals permitted us to investigate band-gap properties as a function of increasing rotational isotropy. We present results from numerical simulations proving that the PBG observed experimentally for HUDS at low index contrast has zero density of states. The PBG is associated with the energy difference between complementary resonant modes above and below the gap, with the field predominantly concentrated in the air or in the dielectric. The intrinsic isotropy of HUDS may offer unprecedented flexibilities and freedom in applications (i. e. defect architecture design) not limited by crystalline symmetries. 10970-10973 (1988). 27. M. Florescu, P. J. Steinhardt, and S. Torquato, "Optical cavities and waveguides in hyperuniform disordered photonic solids," Phys.

We introduce a hyperuniform-disordered platform for the realization of near-infrared photonic devices on a silicon-on-insulator platform, demonstrating the functionality of these structures in a flexible silicon photonics integrated circuit platform unconstrained by crystalline symmetries. The designs proposed advantageously leverage the large, complete, and isotropic photonic band gaps provided by hyperuniform disordered structures. An integrated design for a compact, sub-volt, sub-fJ/bit, hyperuniform-clad, electrically controlled resonant optical modulator suitable for fabrication in the silicon photonics ecosystem is presented along with simulation results. We also report results for passive device elements, including waveguides and resonators, which are seamlessly integrated with conventional silicon-on-insulator strip waveguides and vertical couplers. We show that the hyperuniform-disordered platform enables improved compactness, enhanced energy efficiency, and better temperature stability compared to the silicon photonics devices based on rib and strip waveguides.

Non-crystalline photonic band gap (PBG) materials have received increasing attention, and sizeable PBGs have been reported in quasi-crystalline structures and, more recently, in disordered structures. Band structure calculations for periodic structures produce accurate dispersion relations, which determine group velocities, dispersion, density of states and iso-frequency surfaces, and are used to predict a wide-range of optical phenomena including light propagation, excited-state decay rates, temporal broadening or compression of ultrashort pulses and complex refraction phenomena. However, band calculations for non-periodic structures employ large super-cells of hundreds to thousands building blocks, and provide little useful information other than the PBG central frequency and width. Using stereolithography, we construct cm-scale disordered PBG materials and perform microwave transmission measurements, as well as finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations. The photonic dispersion relations are reconstructed from the measured and simulated phase data. Our results demonstrate the existence of sizeable PBGs in these disordered structures and provide detailed information of the effective band diagrams, dispersion relation, iso-frequency contours, and their angular dependence. Slow light phenomena are also observed in these structures near gap frequencies. This study introduces a powerful tool to investigate photonic properties of non-crystalline structures and provides important effective dispersion information, otherwise difficult to obtain.

We report preliminary results for silicon waveguides and devices in hyperuniform disordered photonic solids. Temperature sensitivity of resonant defects is more than 500 times lower than that of the standard silicon microring resonators. © 2013 Optical Society of America