Efficient photonic crystal Y-junctions

Abstract

A highly efficient Y-junction based on a planar photonic crystal (PhC) platform is presented. The PhC consists of a triangular array of holes etched into a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure, with a typical period of 322 nm and ∼35% fill factor. The Y-junction has smaller holes positioned at the centre of the junction, giving rise to very uniform splitting and high transmission. The performance is very encouraging, with experimental transmission of approximately 40% for each arm of the Y-splitter relative to a comparable single-defect PhC waveguide.