Adjustable unidirectional beam splitters in two dimensional photonic crystals.

The splitting properties are investigated in two dimensional silicon photonic crystals by adjusting the interface of the structure. Introducing elliptical air holes with optimized parameters on the heterointerface, the forward transmittance is significantly improved in a wide frequency range. Correspondingly, the unidirectional two-beam splitter is realized and the relative light intensities of each beam can be continuously adjusted by modulating the area ratio (AR) of elliptical air holes. Furthermore, the output beams can be changed into three and five beams by alternately introducing elliptical air holes on the monolayer output interface. Not only the forward light intensities of each beam can be continuously adjusted, but also the reverse can be tuned simultaneously by modulating the shape of elliptical air holes. Particularly, the light transmission behaviors along two opposite directions are significantly different. Moreover, the elliptical-shaped air holes have more structural freedoms and increase the design flexibility of the devices. The performance of the splitter is found to be very encouraging in the complex photonic integrated circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]