Electromagnetic mode conversion in photonic crystal multimode waveguides

US6728439B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• OmniGuide Communications · US

Inventors

• Ori Weisberg · Cambridge, US
• Steven G. Johnson · McLeansboro, US
• John D. Joannopoulos · Belmont, US
• Michael Shapiro · Marblehead, US
• Yoel Fink · Cambridge, US
• Mihai Ibanescu · Cambridge, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 21, 2003
• Grant date: Apr 27, 2004
• Expiry date: Mar 21, 2023

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G02B6/14
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A photonic crystal waveguide having multiple guided modes, the waveguide comprising: a dielectric confinement region surrounding a waveguide axis, the confinement region comprising a photonic crystal having at least one photonic band gap, during operation the confinement region guides EM radiation in a first range of frequencies to propagate along the waveguide axis; a dielectric core region extending along the waveguide axis and surrounded by the confinement region about the waveguide axis; and a mode coupling segment comprising at least one bend in the waveguide axis, wherein during operation the mode coupling segment converts EM energy in a first guided mode to a second guided mode with a conversion efficiency greater than 10% for a frequency in the first range of frequencies.