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Novel Advances in Optical Micro- and Nano-Cavities

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A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Optics and Lasers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2019) | Viewed by 21872

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Soon-Hong Kwon

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Guest Editor

Department of Physics, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea
Interests: photonic crystal; surface plasmon; metamaterials; single photon sources

Prof. Dr. Jin-Kyu Yang

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Guest Editor

Department of Optical Engineering, College of Engineering, Kongju National University, 1223-24 Cheonan-Daero, Subuk-gu Cheonan Chungnam 31080, Korea
Interests: dielectric photonic structures underlying two-dimensional periodicity or quasi-periodicity; meta-materials based on metallic subwavelength geometry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Optical cavities are important key elements of nanophotonic technologies because of their versatile functionalities. Recently, based on the cutting-edge fabrication technologies, various optical micro- and nano-cavities have been realized in photonic crystals, plasmonic structures, whispering-gallery mode cavities, metal cladding cavities, metamaterials, etc. In particular, the strong light confinement of the optical micro- and nano-cavities in the wavelength/sub-wavelength region provides unprecedented abilities in light controls, strong light-matter interactions, nonlinear interaction, modification of spontaneous emissions, directionality of emitted light.

This Special Issue provides an overview of recent advances from the fundamental theory, novel designs to applications of optical micro- and nano-cavities, including nano/low-threshold lasers, optical modulators/optical switches, single photon sources, light-matter interactions, spontaneous emission controls.

Prof. Soon-Hong Kwon
Prof. Jin-Kyu Yang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

Photonic crystal cavities and plasmonic cavities
Microdisks, microspheres, microrings, and microtoroids
Metal cladding cavities
Nanowires, nanoparticles
Metamaterials
Novel optical cavities
Nano-lasers/Low-threshold lasers
Optical modulators/Optical Switches
Single photon sources
Light-matter interactions
Spontaneous emission controls

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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8 pages, 1087 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reflection Enhancement and Giant Lateral Shift in Defective Photonic Crystals with Graphene

by Dong Zhao, Fangmei Liu, Peng Meng, Jie Wen, Siliu Xu, Zhongming Li and Dong Zhong

Appl. Sci. 2019, 9(10), 2141; https://doi.org/10.3390/app9102141 - 25 May 2019

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2687

Abstract

This study investigates the reflectance of the defective mode (DM) and the lateral shift of reflected beam in defective photonic crystals incorporated with single-layer graphene by the transfer matrix method (TMM). Graphene, treated as an equivalent dielectric with a thickness of 0.34 nm, was embedded in the center of a defect layer. The reflectance of the DM was greatly enhanced as the intraband transition of electrons was converted to an interband transition in graphene. The reflectance of the DM could be further enhanced by increasing the Bragg periodic number. Furthermore, a large lateral shift of the reflected beam could also be induced around the DM. This study may find great applications in highly sensitive sensors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Advances in Optical Micro- and Nano-Cavities)

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8 pages, 1368 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Frequency Difference Thermally and Electrically Tunable Dual-Frequency Nd:YAG/LiTaO₃ Microchip Laser

by Kun Gui, Zilong Zhang, Yuxiao Xing, Haiyang Zhang and Changming Zhao

Appl. Sci. 2019, 9(10), 1969; https://doi.org/10.3390/app9101969 - 14 May 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2454

Abstract

This study presents a dual-frequency microchip laser with a thermo-optically and electro-optically tuned frequency difference. The dual-frequency microchip cavity is formed by bonding a Lithium tantalite (LiTaO₃, LTO) crystal chip and a neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) crystal chip. A single longitudinal mode is generated by the Nd:YAG crystal and split into two frequencies with perpendicular polarizations due to birefringent effect in the LTO chip. Furthermore, continuous beat frequency tuning at different scales is realized by adjusting the temperature and voltage applied to the LTO crystal. A maximum beat frequency of up to 27 GHz is obtained, and the frequency difference lock-in phenomenon is observed below the frequency difference of 405 MHz. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Advances in Optical Micro- and Nano-Cavities)

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8 pages, 1717 KiB

Open AccessArticle

High-Sensitive TM Modes in Photonic Crystal Nanobeam Cavity with Horizontal Air Gap for Refractive Index Sensing

by Jin-Kyu Yang, Chae-Young Kim and Minji Lee

Appl. Sci. 2019, 9(5), 967; https://doi.org/10.3390/app9050967 - 07 Mar 2019

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3328

Abstract

We propose a new type of refractive index sensing based on the transverse magnetic (TM) modes in the photonic crystal (PhC) nanobeam (NB) cavity with a horizontal air gap. The electric field of the resonant TM mode is strongly confined within the horizontal air gap present at the PhC NB cavity. In order to increase the quality (Q) factor and the sensitivity (S) of the refractive index change in the air simultaneously, the cavity structure is fully optimized. Because of the trade-off between the Q-factor and S of the TM mode in the PhC NB cavity with an air gap, there is an optimal thickness of the air gap in the dielectric slot. From the numerical simulation results, S can exceed 1000 nm/RIU with Q > 40,000. When the dielectric slot becomes thin, S could be higher than 1200 nm/RIU. For practical applications, we suggest an Si-based PhC NB cavity with a horizontal SiO₂ slot structure which can also provide high S with a high Q-factor after a very fine selective wet etching process. This new type of TM resonant mode in the PhC NB cavity can be an ideal platform for compact sensors in photonic integrated circuits for TM waveguide systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Advances in Optical Micro- and Nano-Cavities)

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8 pages, 2564 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Photonic Crystal Cavity with a Thin Low-Index Layer for Silicon-Compatible Nanolight Source

by Youngsoo Kim, Young Jin Lee, Seokhyeon Hong, Kihwan Moon and Soon-Hong Kwon

Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(9), 1552; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8091552 - 04 Sep 2018

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3612

Abstract

The development of an efficient silicon-based nanolight source is an important step for silicon-based photonic integrated circuits. We propose a high quality factor photonic crystal nanocavity consisting of silicon and silica, which can be used as a silicon-compatible nanolight source. We show that this cavity can effectively confine lights in a low-index silica layer with a high confinement factor of 0.25, in which rare-earth dopants can be embedded as gain materials. The cavity is optimized to have a high quality factor of 15,000 and a mode volume of 0.01 μm³, while the resonance has a wavelength of 1537 nm. We expect that the high confinement factor in the thin silica layer and the high quality factor of the proposed cavity enable the cavity to be a good candidate for silicon-compatible nanolight sources for use in nanolasers or light-emitting diodes in the telecommunication wavelength region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Advances in Optical Micro- and Nano-Cavities)

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11 pages, 4898 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cavity Design in Woodpile Based 3D Photonic Crystals

by Xu Zheng, Mike P. C. Taverne, Ying-Lung D. Ho and John G. Rarity

Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(7), 1087; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8071087 - 05 Jul 2018

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4528

Abstract

In this paper, we present a design of a three-dimensional (3D) photonic crystal (PhC) nanocavity based on an optimized woodpile structure. By carefully choosing the position of the defect at the lattice center, we can create a cavity with high symmetry which supports well confined Gaussian-like cavity modes similar to those seen in a Fabry Perot laser resonator. We could also tune the resonant frequency of the cavity and manually choose the cavity mode order by adjusting the size of the defect at a chosen position. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Advances in Optical Micro- and Nano-Cavities)

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Review

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18 pages, 5771 KiB

Open AccessReview

Electrically Driven Micro- and Nano-Scale Semiconductor Light Sources

by You-Shin No

Appl. Sci. 2019, 9(4), 802; https://doi.org/10.3390/app9040802 - 25 Feb 2019

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4472

Abstract

Emerging optical technology capable of addressing the limits in modern electronics must incorporate unique solutions to bring about a revolution in high-speed, on-chip data communication and information processing. Among the possible optical devices that can be developed, the electrically driven, ultrasmall semiconductor light source is the most essential element for a compact, power-efficient photonic integrated circuit. In this review, we cover the recent development of the electrically driven light-emitting devices based on various micro- and nano-scale semiconductor optical cavities. We also discuss the recent advances in the integration of these light sources with passive photonic circuits. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Advances in Optical Micro- and Nano-Cavities)

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