Frozen and broadband slow light in coupled periodic nanowire waveguides

Abstract

We develop novel designs enabling slow-light propagation with vanishing group-velocity dispersion ("frozen light") and slow-light with large delay-bandwidth product, in periodic nanowires. Our design is based on symmetry-breaking of periodic nanowire waveguides and we demonstrate its vailidy through two- and three-dimensional simulations. The slow-light is associated with a stationary inflection point which appears through coupling between forward and backward waveguide modes. The mode coupling also leads to evanescent modes, which enable efficient light coupling to the slow mode.