Optical control element

• US 7,123,804 B2
• Filed: 11/23/2004
• Issued: 10/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited, Toshihiko Baba
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited, Toshihiko Baba
• Inventors: Mori, Daisuke, Baba, Toshihiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Pak, Sung
• Assistant Examiner(s): WONG, TINA MEI SENG
• Application Number:
  US10/994,369
• Publication Number:
  US 20050152659A1
• Time in Patent Office: 693 Days
• Field of Search: 385129-131
• US Class Current: 385/129
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 20/00 Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/1225 comprising photonic band-gap structures or photonic lattices

Abstract

An optical control element is disclosed that can be made small and has a low loss, and is able to provide group speed control and wavelength dispersion of short light pulses. The optical control element is formed from a photonic crystal, and includes a first portion having a first refraction index in the photonic crystal, a second portion having a second refraction index lower than the first refraction index, and a refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide. A difference effective refraction indexes between the first portion and the second portion near the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide, changing continuously or stepwise along a wave guiding direction of the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide.

Claims

1. An optical control element formed from a photonic crystal, said optical control element comprising:

a first portion in the photonic crystal that has a first refraction index;

a second portion in the photonic crystal that has a second refraction index lower than the first refraction index;

a refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide wherein a difference between an effective refraction index of the first portion and an effective refraction index of the second portion changes continuously along a wave guiding direction of the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide; and

a thin film having a thickness changing along the wave guiding direction.

2. An optical control element formed from a photonic crystal, said optical control element comprising:

a first portion in the photonic crystal that has a first refraction index;

a second portion in the photonic crystal that has a second refraction index lower than the first refraction index; and

a refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide wherein a difference between an effective refraction index of the first portion and an effective refraction index of the second portion changes continuously along a wave guiding direction of the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide,

wherein a lattice arrangement of the photonic crystal near the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide is distorted, and the distortion changes along the wave guiding direction of the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide.

3. The optical control element as claimed in claim 2, wherein the photonic crystal comprises:

a plurality of holes;

wherein

a ratio of a radius of one of the holes to a pitch of the holes changes along the wave guiding direction near the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide.

4. The optical control element as claimed in claim 2, wherein the photonic crystal comprises:

a plurality of holes;

wherein

a pitch of the holes changes along the wave guiding direction near the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide.

5. An optical control element formed from a photonic crystal, said optical control element comprising:

a first portion in the photonic crystal that has a first refraction index;

a second portion in the photonic crystal that has a second refraction index lower than the first refraction index;

a refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide wherein a difference between an effective refraction index of the first portion and an effective refraction index of the second portion changes continuously along a wave guiding direction of the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide; and

a photonic crystal defect structure near the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide and able to be connected to the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide,

wherein the photonic crystal connection defect structure comprises a connection defect wave guide formed from a defect wave guide, and

the connection defect wave guide is a second refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide different from said refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide.

6. The optical control element as claimed in claim 5, wherein each of said two refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guides generates a band having a band edge in a photonic bandgap, and the bands of said two refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guides overlap with each other near the band edges.

7. The optical control element as claimed in claim 5, wherein the bands of said two refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guides in photonic bandgaps thereof are on opposite sides of a band edge.

8. The optical control element as claimed in claim 7, wherein the bands of said two refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guides in the photonic bandgaps thereof are nearly symmetric relative to the band edge near the band edge.

9. The optical control element as claimed in claim 5, wherein the bands of said two refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guides in photonic bandgaps thereof are on the same side of the band edge near the band edge.

10. The optical control element as claimed in claim 9, wherein the bands of said two refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guides in the photonic bandgaps thereof are partially approximately the same near the band edge.

11. An optical control element formed from a photonic crystal, said optical control element comprising:

a first portion in the photonic crystal that has a first refraction index of a base material of the first portion;

a second portion forming a hole structure in the photonic crystal that has a second refraction index lower than the first refraction index; and

a refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide,

wherein a difference between the first refraction index of the first portion and the second refraction index of the second portion changes continuously along a wave guiding direction of the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide and

the first portion has a refraction-index distribution changing continuously, by a variation in the material properties of the base material of the first portion, from a relatively high refraction index to a relatively low refraction index in the same material of the first portion.

12. An optical control element formed from a photonic crystal, said optical control element comprising:

a first portion in the photonic crystal that has a first refraction index of a base material of the first portion;

a second portion forming a hole structure in the photonic crystal that has a second refraction index lower than the first refraction index; and

a refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide,

wherein a difference between an effective refraction index of the first portion and an effective refraction index of the second portion changes continuously along a wave guiding direction of the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide, and

the first portion has a refraction-index distribution changing continuously, by a variation in the material properties of the base material of the first portion, from a relatively high refraction index to a relatively low refraction index in the same base material of the first portion.

13. The optical control element as claimed in claim 12, wherein the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide generates a band having a band edge in a photonic bandgap of the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide with respect to a wavelength of light guided in the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide.

14. The optical control element as claimed in claim 12, wherein the change of the difference between the effective refraction index of the first portion and the effective refraction index of the second portion is generated from a change of a structure of the photonic crystal.

15. The optical control element as claimed in claim 12, wherein the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide comprises:

a portion having an increasing difference of the effective refraction indexes; and

a portion having a decreasing difference of the effective refraction indexes.

16. The optical control element as claimed in claim 12, further comprising:

a photonic crystal defect structure near the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide and able to be connected to the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide.

17. The optical control element as claimed in claim 16, wherein the photonic crystal defect structure comprises:

an intermediate connection defect structure able to be connected to the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide;

wherein

the photonic crystal connection defect structure is able to be connected to the intermediate connection defect structure.

18. The optical control element as claimed in claim 16, wherein the photonic crystal connection defect structure comprises:

a connection defect wave guide formed from a defect wave guide.

19. The optical control element as claimed in claim 18, wherein the connection defect wave guide is coupled by a directional coupler.

20. The optical control element as claimed in claim 12, further comprising:

a dispersion compensation correction element on an incident side or an outgoing side of the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide.

21. The optical control element as claimed in claim 20, wherein the dispersion compensation correction element comprises:

a photonic crystal defect wave guide.

22. The optical control element as claimed in claim 21, wherein the dispersion compensation correction element comprises:

a dispersion compensation correction variable unit configured to variably control a correction to the dispersion compensation.

23. The optical control element as claimed in claim 12, further comprising:

an optical control unit operating by means of a non-linear optical effect in the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide.

24. The optical control element as claimed in claim 12, further comprising:

an optical control unit operating by means of an electro-optical effect in the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide.

25. The optical control element as claimed in claim 12, further comprising:

an optical control unit operating by means of a magnetic-optical effect in the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide.

26. The optical control element as claimed in claim 12, further comprising:

a temperature control unit that controls a temperature of the refraction-index-distributed type defect wave guide.