One-Dimensional Photonic Crystal Rib Waveguides

We analyze an optical waveguide that consists of a 1D photonic crystal (PC) embedded in a large cross-sectional rib waveguide. The PC provides control over the dispersion properties of the waveguide, while the rib geometry provides a low loss and versatile mechanism for confining light. The structure is analyzed using the 3D finite-difference time-domain method. The simulation results indicate that extremely low-loss waveguiding is possible over a defect band. Moreover, the PC has a complete 1D photonic band gap with a gap-midgap ratio (Deltaomega/omega
_mid
) of 0.913, which is one of the largest ratios ever reported for a PC.