Asymmetric open cavities for beam steering and switching from line-defect photonic crystals

Abstract

We study numerically a group of asymmetric open cavities located at the exit of a photonic crystal waveguide. High angular confinement and deflection of the photonic beam are detected with zero side lobes. We further demonstrate, for the first time to our knowledge, the potential application of generalized open cavities in realizing optical switches/modulators with beam deflection. Finally, the frequency-domain response of the device is investigated and high bandwidth operation can be realized to cover some of the most commonly used transmission windows in the optical-fiber-communication regime. © 2010 Optical Society of America.