Super-collimation in a rod-based photonic crystal

Super-collimation is the propagation of a light beam without spreading that occurs when the light beam is guided by the dispersion properties of a photonic crystal, rather than by defects in the photonic crystal. Super-collimation has many potential applications, the most straight-forward of which is in the area of integrated optical circuits, where super-collimation can be utilized for optical routing and optical logic. Another interesting direction is the burgeoning field of optofluidics, in which integrated biological or chemical sensors can be based on super-collimating structures. The work presented in the thesis includes the design, fabrication, and characterizion of a rod-based two-dimensional photonic crystal super-collimator. The dispersion contours for the photonic crystal are simulated as part of the design process. Two different fabrication process methods are developed and applied. The super-collimator s fabricated, and the fabrication methods are analyzed and compared. Characterization of the super-collimator has resulted in the first experimental observation of upper-collimation in a two-dimensional photonic crystal of rods. The advantages of he rod-based device structure and potential applications of the super-collimator are discussed in closing.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Shih, Ta-Ming, Ph. D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Leslie A. Kolodziejski.

• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/42061

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/42061