The demand for higher bandwidth and higher speed driven by semiconductor technology development draws a great deal of research efforts devoted to the development of high speed data communication. Challenges on electrical copper interconnects at high frequency make optical interconnect technologies become a promising alternative to conventional electrical interconnects at different levels. This doctoral dissertation describes polymer based nano- and micro-photonic devices for three-dimensional optical interconnects. Two areas are focused, (1) polymer based two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) photonic crystal fabrication and simulation for laser beam steering applications, (2) polymer based optical waveguide array and shared bus waveguide with embedded 45° micro-mirrors for board level optical interconnects. A three-dimensional (3D) face-centered cubic (FCC) type polymer based photonic crystal using the polymer material SU-8 was simulated and successfully fabricated using a polygonal prism based holographic fabrication method. The theoretical study of polymer based photonic crystals was carried out for laser beam steering, which is based on the superprism effect. Horizontally stacked two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystal was fabricated by a double exposure holographic interference method. The k-vector superprism effect, the principle for beam steering, was studied in detail through EFC (Equi-frequency Contour) analysis. A polymer based optical waveguide array with embedded 45° micro-mirrors for board level optical interconnects was prepared using a Ni metal hard mold by a UV imprint technique. A nickel based metal mold with 45º tilted surfaces on both ends of the channel waveguide was prepared through the electroplating process. To obtain a precise 45º tilted angle, a 50µm thick SU-8 layer was exposed under de-ionized water. High speed optical testing (10Gb/s) was carried out on the polymeric optical waveguide array with embedded 45º micro-mirrors on flexible substrate for out-of-plane optical interconnects. A polymer based 3-to-3 shared optical bus waveguide with opposite 45º micro-mirrors was designed and fabricated using the metallic hard mold method. The Ni metal hard mold was successfully prepared using the Ni electroplating method. This metallic hard mold provides a convenient way to fabricate the polymeric optical bus waveguide devices through the imprint technique. / text

In this thesis, I will describe the polarization properties of two separate but similar optical systems. I will begin by showing anisotropy in a dielectric photonic crystal slab patterned with a periodic circular hole array. This anisotropy can be utilized in manipulating the gain properties of surface emitting photonic crystal lasers. I will then describe a metallic, planar metamaterial patterned similarly with a 2d periodic array of holes. The enhanced optical transmission of this system is demonstrated computationally and experimentally, with a good agreement between the two. I will also demonstrate polarization rotation in this array. The effect is shown to minimize the background contribution to the transmission resulting in the narrowing of the line width and improvement between on and off resonance contrast. I then provide a theory behind the polarization rotation in transmission through a metamaterial based upon a Jones matrix formulation, which is dependent only upon the existence of separate s and p resonances in a photonic system. / text

This research evaluated photonic imaging devices for assessment of body size and shape. In aim one, laser imaging measurements of circumference, volume, and % fat were examined in 70 women. Bland-Altman analysis indicated minimal error in girth of the waist and hip by laser imaging as compared to tape measure (95% limits of agreement for waist, -2.02-2.29 cm; hip, -3.39-2.90 cm). Volume by laser imaging was related to hydrodensitometry (r = 0.99, p < 0.01), and % fat estimates were not significantly different from hydrodensitometry or dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) (3.95 ± 1.74, 32.54 ± 1.28, and 35.86 ± 1.06, respectively, p > 0.05). In aim two, 120 adults were evaluated via stereovision imaging. Stereovision was significantly related to volume by air displacement plethysmography (ADP) and hydrodensitometry (R² > 0.99, p < 0.01). However, Bland-Altman analysis indicated variations in body fat between stereovision and ADP (95% limits of agreement, -16.77-16.05 kg). Therefore, aim three was development of a prediction equation to estimate fat from 13 stereovision measurements of body size and shape. These parameters combined to form upper and lower body factor scores, which, with gender, predicted 88.6% of variation in fat mass by ADP (p < 0.01). The equation improved 95% limits of agreement from -16.77-16.05 kg via direct volume measurement to -11.47-8.45 kg compared to ADP. Finally, in aim four, a subset of 56 women from aim two was evaluated for visceral fat by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Visceral fat was compared to a new indicator of abdominal adiposity via stereovision imaging: central obesity depth. Central obesity depth was correlated with visceral fat, following adjustment for age and ethnicity (r = 0.75, p < 0.01). Additionally, each 1 cm rise in central obesity depth raised the odds of being in the high versus low visceral fat tertile (Odds Ratio 8.59, 95% Confidence Interval 1.33-55.63, p < 0.05). Thus, both laser and stereovision body imaging appear to be valid techniques for evaluation of body size and shape. Furthermore, central obesity depth is a promising new measurement for assessment of visceral adiposity. / text

Nano-structures, such as photonic crystal cavities and metallic antennas, allow one to focus and store optical energy into very small volumes, greatly increasing light-matter interactions. These structures produce resonances which are typically characterized by how well they confine energy both temporally (quality factor–Q) and spatially (mode volume–V). In order to observe non-linear effects, modified spontaneous emission (e.g. Purcell enhancement), or quantum effects (e.g. vacuum Rabi splitting), one needs to maximize the ratio of Q/V while also maximizing the coupling between the resonance and the active medium. In this dissertation I will discuss several projects related by the goal of controlling light-matter interactions using such nano-structures. In the first portion of this dissertation I will discuss the deterministic placement of self-assembled InAs quantum dots, which would allow one to precisely position an optically-active material, for maximum interaction, inside of a photonic crystal cavity. Additionally, I will discuss the use of atomic layer deposition to tune and improve both the resonance wavelength and quality factor of silicon based photonic crystal cavities. Moving from dielectric materials to metals allows one to achieve mode-volumes well below the diffraction limit. The quality factor of these resonators is severely limited by Ohmic loss in the metal; however, the small mode-volume still allows for greatly enhanced light-matter interaction. In the second portion of this dissertation I will investigate the coupling between an array of metallic resonators (antennas) and a nearby semiconductor quantum well. Using time-resolved pump-probe measurements I study the properties of the coupled system and compare the results to a model which allows one to quantitatively compare various antenna geometries.

The design procedure for ultrafast silicon electro-optic switches using photonic crystals in order optimize the operation of the electro-optic switch is presented. The material medium selected for propagation of the optical signal through the switch is silicon nanocrystals in silica. A patterned slot waveguide with one-dimensional photonic crystals is proposed as the preferred slow light waveguide to be used in the design of the electro-optic switch. The ultrafast quadratic electro-optic Kerr effect is the physical effect utilized, and its analysis for slot waveguides is discussed. The optical structure analysis of the electro-optic switch using a ring resonator is presented and it is shown that the use of a slow light waveguide in the ring resonator can reduce the required externally applied electric field and the radius of the ring resonator.

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Photonic bandgap materials are periodic structures that exclude electromagnetic field propagation over frequency intervals known as bandgaps. These materials exhibit remarkable wave dispersion and have found use in many applications that require control over dynamic electromagnetic fields, as their properties can be tailored by design. The two principal objectives of this thesis are the development of a liquid crystal-based microwave photonic bandgap device whose bandgap could be tuned during operation and the design and implementation of a spectral transmission-line modeling method for band structure calculations. The description of computational methods comprises an overview of the implemented numerical routines, a derivation of the spectral properties of the transmission-line modeling method in periodic domains, and the development of an efficient sparse matrix eigenvalue algorithm that formed the basis of the spectral transmission-line modeling method. The discussion of experimental methods considers the use of liquid crystals in microwave applications and details the design and fabrication of several devices. These include a series of modified twisted nematic cells that were used to evaluate liquid crystal alignment and switching, a patch resonator that was used to measure liquid crystal permittivity, and the liquid crystal photonic bandgap device itself. Numerical experiments showed that the spectral transmission-line modeling method is accurate and substantially faster and less memory intensive than the reference plane wave method for problems of high dielectric contrast or rapidly varying spatial detail. Physical experiments successfully realized a microwave photonic bandgap structure whose bandgap could be continuously tuned with a bias voltage. The very good agreement between simulated and measured results validate the computational and experimental methods used, particularly the resonance-based technique for permittivity measurement. This work's results may be applied to many applications, including microwave filters, negative group velocity/negative refraction materials, and microwave permittivity measurement of liquid crystals.

The focus of this thesis is to investigate the implementation of Radio Frequency (RF) In-Phase and Quadrature-Phase (I/Q) vector modulation through the use of modern photonic components and sub-systems which offer extremely wide RF intrinsic bandwidths. All-electronic vector modulators suffer from frequency coverage limitations and amplitude and phase instability due to components such as phase shifters and variable gain controllers operating at or near 100\% bandwidth. In stark contrast, once an RF signal has been modulated onto an optical carrier, the percent bandwidth of the RF to carrier is typically less than 0.01\% percent. The fundamental mechanisms and basic electronic and photonic components needed to achieve vector modulation is introduced first. The primary electrical component required in most architectures is the 90° RF hybrid coupler, which is required to generate the RF I and Q terms. The two primary photonic building blocks, aside from the laser, electro-optic modulator and demodulator, are Mach-Zehnder Modulators (MZM) and Variable Optical Attenuators (VOA). Through the utilization of these components, multiple past architectures are explored and multiple new architectures are designed simulated. For each architecture, there is a discussion on the practical implementation. Considerations such as system complexity, integration, and sensitivity to unwanted environmental stimuli are taken into account with potential solutions to alleviate these risks. In closing, the noise figure and its impact on Spur-Free Dynamic Range (SFDR) for a basic RF photonic link is derived to provide a system-level figure of merit that can be used, in most RF applications, to determine the overall performance utility current and future designs.

Photonic bandgap materials are periodic structures that exclude electromagnetic field propagation over frequency intervals known as bandgaps. These materials exhibit remarkable wave dispersion and have found use in many applications that require control over dynamic electromagnetic fields, as their properties can be tailored by design. The two principal objectives of this thesis are the development of a liquid crystal-based microwave photonic bandgap device whose bandgap could be tuned during operation and the design and implementation of a spectral transmission-line modeling method for band structure calculations. The description of computational methods comprises an overview of the implemented numerical routines, a derivation of the spectral properties of the transmission-line modeling method in periodic domains, and the development of an efficient sparse matrix eigenvalue algorithm that formed the basis of the spectral transmission-line modeling method. The discussion of experimental methods considers the use of liquid crystals in microwave applications and details the design and fabrication of several devices. These include a series of modified twisted nematic cells that were used to evaluate liquid crystal alignment and switching, a patch resonator that was used to measure liquid crystal permittivity, and the liquid crystal photonic bandgap device itself. Numerical experiments showed that the spectral transmission-line modeling method is accurate and substantially faster and less memory intensive than the reference plane wave method for problems of high dielectric contrast or rapidly varying spatial detail. Physical experiments successfully realized a microwave photonic bandgap structure whose bandgap could be continuously tuned with a bias voltage. The very good agreement between simulated and measured results validate the computational and experimental methods used, particularly the resonance-based technique for permittivity measurement. This work's results may be applied to many applications, including microwave filters, negative group velocity/negative refraction materials, and microwave permittivity measurement of liquid crystals.