Calculation of Fully Anisotropic Liquid Crystal Waveguide Modes

Beeckman, Jeroen; James, Richard; Fernández, FA; Cort, Wout De; Vanbrabant, Pieter; Neyts, Kristiaan

doi:10.1109/jlt.2009.2016673

Cited by 48 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…We use a finite element mode solver to calculate the modes in optical waveguides with NLC top cladding. This solver is based on the solution of the variational form of the curl-curl equations of the electric field [9]. As opposed to most commercial tools, this solver is able to take into account the full anisotropy of the LC.…”

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confidence: 99%

Tuning of silicon-on-insulator ring resonators with liquid crystal cladding using the longitudinal field component

et al. 2009

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We show tuning of the resonance wavelength of silicon-on-insulator microring resonators with liquid crystal cladding. The electrooptic effect of the liquid crystal causes a decrease in effective refractive index for the TE-polarized light in the waveguides. Tuning of the liquid crystal birefringence affects primarily the longitudinal component of the electric field. We achieve a tuning range of 0.6 nm. Through simulation and experiment we perform a thourough study of this phenomenon. c 2009 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 130.7408, 160.3710.Ring resonators are optical devices designed to show resonance for specific wavelengths. In silicon-on-insulator (SOI), they can be very small, exhibit a high Q-factor and have low losses which make them efficient wavelength-filters [1]. Ring resonators with tunable resonance wavelengths are attractive for reconfigurable optical networks and have led to considerable scientific interest. A method to achieve this is to apply an appropriate cladding layer on the chip. The light in the waveguides 'feels' the refractive index of the cladding with its evanescent tails. Nematic liquid crystal (NLC) is an interesting option. It is optically anisotropic, so its refractive index is directionally dependent. A ∆n of 0.2 is common for LC materials. As the NLC director orientation can be influenced by an electric field, it 1

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confidence: 99%

Tuning of silicon-on-insulator ring resonators with liquid crystal cladding using the longitudinal field component

et al. 2009

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“…We have developed a mode solver capable of handling fully anisotropic problems. The calculation is based on the solution of the variational form of the curl-curl equation of the electric field, implemented with higher-order edge elements [17]. First we want to check the relative importance of the x-and the z-components on the effective index of the mode.…”

Section: B Simulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tuning silicon-on-insulator ring resonators with in-plane switching liquid crystals

et al. 2010

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We show that the resonance wavelength of Silicon-On-Insulator ring resonators can be tuned when a top cladding of liquid crystal is present. In-plane strip electrodes are used to generate an electric field that reorients the liquid crystal director in the plane parallel to the chip surface. This causes the resonance wavelength to shift towards longer wavelengths. The magnitude of this shift is about 1 nm, which is twice as large as previously reported shifts. The experimental results are verified extensively with our simulation tools, where a calculation of the director orientation is combined with a fully anisotropic mode solver. From this we get a clear view of the mechanism behind the tuning.

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“…In order to calculate the optical modes of the induced waveguide, a full-vectorial finite element mode solver has been used which can handle the full anisotropy of the dielectric tensor [29]. The mode solver is based on the solution of the variational form of the curl-curl equations of the electric field …”

Section: Finite Element Anisotropic Mode Solvermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The finite element mesh is different for the LC calculation and the mode calculation to allow for better tuning of the density of the mesh and to minimize the calculation time. The number of elements in the mode calculation mesh is more than 2000, which leads to an error on the effective index smaller than 10 −5 as was shown in [29]. Figure 1 describes the first configuration that is investigated in this work.…”

Section: Finite Element Anisotropic Mode Solvermentioning

confidence: 99%

Finding exact spatial soliton profiles in nematic liquid crystals

et al. 2010

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Abstract:Finding exact analytical soliton profile solutions is only possible for certain types of non-linear media. In most cases one must resort to numerical techniques to find the soliton profile. In this work we present numerical calculations of spatial soliton profiles in nematic liquid crystals. The nonlinearity is governed by the optical-field-induced liquid crystal director reorientation, which is described by a system of coupled nonlinear partial differential equations. The soliton profile is found using an iterative scheme whereby the induced waveguide and mode profiles are calculated alternatively until convergence is achieved. In this way it is also possible to find higher order solitons. The results in this work can be used to accurately design all-optical interconnections with soliton beams.

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Calculation of Fully Anisotropic Liquid Crystal Waveguide Modes

Cited by 48 publications

References 36 publications

Tuning of silicon-on-insulator ring resonators with liquid crystal cladding using the longitudinal field component

Tuning of silicon-on-insulator ring resonators with liquid crystal cladding using the longitudinal field component

Tuning silicon-on-insulator ring resonators with in-plane switching liquid crystals

Finding exact spatial soliton profiles in nematic liquid crystals

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