Enhancement of magneto-optical properties in magnetic photonic crystal slab waveguide based on yttrium iron garnet

Abstract

In this work, a polarization-independent waveguide based on magnetic photonic crystal (MPC) with a triangular lattice of air holes in Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG) slab grown on alumina (Al2O3) substrate is proposed, where both TE-like and TM-like periodic band gaps overlap. YIG is well known for its attracting magneto-optical (MO) properties and used to produce a coupling between the TE and TM modes. Thus, a nonreciprocal effect can be obtained by applying an external magnetic field parallel to the direction of propagation. At 1550 nm, the complete photonic band gap is simulated and optimized using the three dimensional plane-wave expansion method. The aim of this study is to enhance Faraday rotation (FR) while maintaining a low modal birefringence. A numerical analysis in function of magnetic gyration (g) has been reported, using the BeamProp software. The results reveal a proportional relation between FR, Δ n and g, such for g = 0.5, a large FR of 26.11×104 °/cm with Δ n = 7×10−6. The results show a real improvement of this MPC structure based on YIG with larger FR, lower modal birefringence and minimal losses. The notable enhancement in the MO behaviour could improve the performance of optical isolators, and makes it suitable for nonreciprocal devices.