A single crystal sapphire optical fiber has been developed with an optical cladding that is used to reduce the number of modes that propagate in the fiber. This fiber is the first single crystal sapphire photonic crystal fiber ever produced. Fabrication of the optical cladding reduces the number of modes in the fiber by lowering the effective refractive index around the core, which limits the amount of loss. Different fiber designs were analyzed using Comsol Multiphysics to find the modal volumes of each. The MIT Photonic Bands modeling program was used to see if the first photonic band gap fiber could be achieved theoretically. The fibers were qualified using far field pattern and photodetector measurements as well as gas sensing experiments. The fibers were then exposed to a harsh environment of 1000 °C with a coating of alumina to test the resistance to scattering of the fiber. The fibers were also examined using materials characterization equipment to see how the harsh environments impacted the optical and mechanical stability of the bundled fiber. / Ph. D.

A rigorous power coupling model for three-core optical waveguides is proposed based on a full-wave vector boundary element method (VBEM). In addition to the influence of the state of the polarization (SOP) of the input light on the coupling behavior of the three-core optical waveguides can be simulated, the polarization dependent loss (PDL) of the three-core optical waveguides can also be investigated by combining the Mueller matrix method into the power coupling model. In this dissertation, the power coupling model is applied to investigate two kinds of power splitters. The first power splitters are constructed of step-index single mode fibers called triangular 3 3 fused tapered couplers. The influence of the SOP of the input light on the coupling behavior of the triangular 3 3 fused tapered couplers and the effect of fabricating parameters of the coupler, fusion degree, and heated length on the PDL of the coupler are investigated in this dissertation. The second kind of power splitters are constructed of photonic crystal fibers (PCFs). And, several fundamental coupling properties of three-core photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) with equilateral triangular cores are investigated numerically included coupling length, bandwidth, and polarization dependent loss (PDL). It is found the three-core PCFs are good candidate to be realized as an ultra-compact power splitter. And, for three-core PCFs that chose a proper coupling point can raise the yield and performance stability of the power splitter. In addition to the coupling behavior of the power splitters, two-dimensional photonic crystals (PCs) are also studied in this dissertation based on finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The phase interference phenomenon due to the multiple plane-wave signals as initial conditions of the FDTD method for computing band structure of two-dimensional PCs is studied in this dissertation. It is found some normal modes supposed to exist could be lost if the phase interference is nearly out of phase at eigenfrequency. To overcome this problem, we proposed a new solving procedure based on FDTD algorithm which can avoid mode loss phenomenon and obtain complete normal modes over interested frequency range.

The objective of this research is to present a set of powerful simulation, design, and characterization tools suitable for studying novel nanophotonic devices. The simulation tools include a three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain code adapted for parallel computing that allows for a wide range of simulation conditions and material properties to be studied, as well as a semi-analytical Green's function-based complex mode technique for studying loss in photonic crystal waveguides. The design tools consist of multifunctional photonic crystal-based template that has been simulated with nonlinear effects and measured experimentally, and planar slab waveguide structure that provides highly efficient second harmonic generation is a chip-scale device suitable for photonic integrated circuit applications. The characterization tool is composed of a phase-sensitive measurement system using a lock-in amplifier and high-precision optical stages, suitable for probing the optical characteristics of nanoscale devices. The high signal-to-noise ratio and phase shift data provided by the lock-in amplifier allow for accurate transmission measurements as well as a phase spectrum that contains information about the propagation behavior of the device beyond what is provided by the amplitude spectrum alone.

The Best MPhil Thesis in the Faculties of Dentistry, Engineering, Medicine and Science (University of Hong Kong), Li Ka Shing Prize,2008-2009 / published_or_final_version / Electrical and Electronic Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

As optical interconnects make their paces to replace traditional electrical interconnects, implementing low cost optical components and hybrid optic-electronic systems are of great interest. In the research work described in this dissertation, we are making our efforts to develop several practical optical components using novel printing technologies including imprinting, ink-jet printing and a combination of both. Imprinting process using low cost electroplating mold is investigated and applied to the waveguide molding process, and it greatly reduces the surface roughness and thus the optical propagation loss. The imprinting process can be applied to photonic components from multi-mode waveguides with 50[mu]m critical dimension down to photonic crystal structures with 500nm hole diameter. Compared to traditional lithography process, imprinting process is featured by its great repeatability and high yield to define patterns on existing layers. Furthermore we still need an approach to deposit layers and that is the reason we integrate the ink-jet printing technology, another low-cost, low material consumption, environmental friendly process. Ink-jet printing process is capable of depositing a wide range of materials, including conductive layer, dielectric layer or other functional layers with defined patterns. Together with molding technology, we demonstrate three applications: proximity coupler, thermo-optic (TO) switch and electro-optic (EO) polymer modulator. The proximity coupler uses imprinted 50[mu]m waveguide with embedded mirrors and ink-jet printed micro-lenses to improve the board-to-board optical interconnects quality. The TO switch and EO modulator both utilize imprinting technology to define a core pattern in the cladding layer. Ink-jet printing is used to deposit the core layer for TO switch and the electrode layers for EO modulator. The fabricated TO switch operates at 1 kHz with less than 0.5ms switching time and the EO modulator shows V[pi][middle dot]L=5.68V[middle dot]cm. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first demonstrations of functional optical switches and modulators using printing method. To further enable the high rate fabrication of ink-jet printed photonic and electronic devices with multiple layers on flexible substrate, we develop a roll-to-roll ink-jet printing system, from hardware integration to software implementation. Machine vision aided real time automatic registration is achieved when printing multiple layers. / text

La thèse montre des solutions pour la réalisation de circuits photoniques intégrés utilisant le caractère volumétrique et les très faibles pertes en propagation des solitons spatiaux . On s'intéresse aux élément de base: interconnections, sources et router optique (comme dispositif d'élaboration). Interconnections et sources sont réalisé dans le niobat de lithium (LN) qui fournis des structures avec une très longe durée temporelle. Le fonctionnement d'un router optique est démontré dans le semiconducteur photorefractif (PR) InP:Fe en raison de sa sensitivité aux longueurs d'onde infrarouges (IR) et à son temps de réponse rapide. On montre que les pertes en propagation dans les interconnections solitoniques peuvent être réduites à nouveau en utilisant un faisceau en polarisation ordinaire qui augmente la variation d'indice de réfraction induite. La réalisation de sources intégrées solitoniques est étudié pour avoir émission en bleu à 400nm et en IR à 1530nm. Celles en bleu sont obtenues par génération de deuxième harmonique ; le rôle du bleu pour la formation des solitons est montré et ses propriété physiques étudiées. Celles en IR sont obtenues en dopant le LN avec des ions (actifs) d'erbium. Leurs effets sur les paramètres PR sont présentés et les solitons spatiaux sont obtenus en excitant l'absorption soit du LN soit de l'erbium. L'amplification de la luminescence est étudié numériquement. Le routage optique dans le InP :Fe est obtenu en faisant interagir deux solitons cohérents et en changeant leur phase relative. L'augmentation de la séparation ou leur fusion est analysé en fonctionne de la distance entre eux, température et intensité de la lumière.

Slow photon, or light with reduced group velocity, is a unique phenomenon found in photonic crystals that theoreticians have long suggested to be invaluable for increasing the efficiency of light-driven processes. This thesis demonstrates experimentally the feasibility of using slow photons to optically amplify photochemistry of both organic and inorganic systems. The effect of photonic properties on organic photochemistry was investigated by tracing out the wavelength-dependent rate of photoisomerization of azobenzene anchored on silica opals. The application of slow photons to inorganic photochemical processes was realized by molding nanocrystalline titania into an inverse opal structure and investigating its photodegradation efficiency in relation to the photonic properties. Changes in the photodegradation efficiency were directly linked to modifications of the electronic band gap absorption as a result of the photonic properties. The highest enhancement of twofold was achieved when the energy of the slow photons overlaps with the electronic band gap absorption, such that the loss of light due to photonic stop-band reflection was significantly reduced. In addition, the strength of slow-photon amplification with respect to the macroscopic structural order was studied by introducing controlled disorder via the incorporation of guest spheres into the opal templates. For the first time, a correlation between structural order, photonic properties and a photochemical process was established. The ability to combine slow-photon optical amplification with chemical enhancement was further achieved by incorporating platinum nanoparticles in inverse titania opals where the platinum nanoparticles increased the lifetimes of the higher population of electron-hole pairs arising from slow photon. Overall, various important factors governing the slow photon enhancement were investigated in detail, including the energy of the photonic stop band, angle dependence, thickness of the film, degree of structural order, filling fraction of the dielectric material and diffusion of a second medium if present. Theoretical calculations based on scalar-wave approximation in support of the experimental findings were provided wherever possible. The findings provide a blueprint for achieving optical amplification using slow photons in the broad range of photochemical or photophysical processes.

Due to an increase of human activity, an increase health risk has emerged from the presence of pollutants in the environment. In the transition to renewable and sustainable life style, treatment of pollutants could support the shifting societies. A motivation behind material research for environmental applications is to maximize the efficiency of the materials to alleviate environmental pollution. In the case of titania, an increase of ultra-violet light absorption is needed to overcome its bandgap to produce reactive radicals, which is the basis for photocatalysis. It has been hypothesized that photonic crystal can enhance titania photocatalysis. They are structures made of at least two dielectrics with a high refractive index contrast, ordered in a periodic fashion. For a strong contrast, photonic band gaps emerge. The effect of the photonic band gap is to force complete reflection of the incoming light within its range and multiple internal reflections at its edges. By combining photonic and electronic band gap positions, it is possible to increase the absorption at the photonic band gap edges. In this thesis, fabrication method and structural analysis of titania and alumina/titania photonic structures were presented. A thorough optical analysis was performed at all steps of fabrication – beyond what previously has been reported. The photocatalytic activity was measured with two setups. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy combined with arc lamps and bandpass filters was used to monitor the degradation of stearic acid in ambient air. A home-built setup was used to degrade methylene blue in solution with ultra-violet illumination. The results in this thesis show in general no correlation of the photocatalytic activity to the photonic band gap position, even though absorbance data displayed an increase absorption in this energy range. A more controlled environment might show the effect of the structure, as seen in some of the experiments.

This thesis presents results in two different neighboring areas of research: the magnetic properties of thin ferrite films and the application of the films in two-dimensional photonic crystals. In the first part, we investigate the accuracy of the customary method for determining the magnetic anisotropy constants of ferrite films by ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) experiment. We have improved the method and introduced an experimental procedure to obtain the anisotropy constants with higher precision. The magnetic anisotropy fields are obtained by using FMR on a (111)-oriented yttrium iron garnet (YIG) film made by pulsed laser deposition. Moreover, we found experimentally that the shapes of FMR spectra of laser deposited epitaxial YIG films strongly depend on the orientation of the magnetic bias field with respect to the crystalline axes of the film. Inhomogeneities of the constants of anisotropy throughout the film could be responsible for the complexity of the FMR spectra. We find the special directions of the applied magnetic field in which the contribution of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy has the smallest effect on the ferromagnetic resonance and therefore on the elements of the permeability tensor. In the second part, we study the electromagnetic wave propagation in two-dimensional (2D) dielectric and magneto-optic photonic crystals (PCs). We have proposed a 2D PC which is composed of magneto-optic material for the purpose of the enhancement of Faraday rotation in high transmission. It is assumed that the 2D PC contains a bismuth iron garnet (BIG) film either as the PC background medium or as a defect, embedded in the 2D PC. We have examined theoretically and computationally the increase in the Faraday rotation as well as the transmission of a plane-polarized plane wave incident onto these structures in the optical wavelength regime. Several important phenomena, with potential applications, are observed.

This thesis presents several advances in the technology and applications of photonic crystal fibres achieved over the last three years. Chapters 1 and 2 give the background material important to understand the results presented in chapters 3, 4 and 5. In chapter 1, linear properties of optical fibres are described. This chapter focuses particularly on how the engineering of the cladding structure of solid core photonic crystal fibres can be used to vary the fibre properties, most importantly the group index and dispersion. Propagation in all-solid photonic bandgap fibres is also discussed in terms of the anti-resonant reflecting optical waveguide model. Chapter 2 introduces the nonlinear optical effects that are important to understand the work presented in chapters 4 and 5. In chapter 3, a method to reduce bend losses in all-solid photonic bandgap fibres is outlined. The reduction of these losses is achieved by redesigning the high-index inclusions in the cladding structure to suppress cladding modes that strongly couple to the fundamental core-guided mode when the fibre is bent. In chapter 4, a method of tapering photonic crystal fibres in order to decrease the dispersion along their length is described. The tapers are used to compress solitons via adiabatic soliton compression and a combination of adiabatic soliton compression and soliton effect compression, achieving a factor of 15 compression of a transform-limited pulse to below 50 fs. Chapter 5 describes how engineering the cladding structure of photonic crystal fibres can be used to generate shorter frequencies in supercontinuum generation. The method by which this achieved is experimentally verified and then exploited to generate a continuum incorporating the entire visible spectrum using low cost, low maintenance pump sources.