Polarization-dependent optical switch and its application for integrated optical circuit devices

摘要

An optical switching mechanism that uses chiral photonic band-gap structures is proposed. The switching is carried out by shifting the band-gap of the configuration. The component employs selective reflection in cholesteric layers and phase-shifting variance in retardation plates. The prototype has been designed and its parameters have been investigated. The spectral response of the component is calculated with respect to the input of orthogonal linear polarizations which are shown to be either efficiently transported to the forward and the backward directions within different photonic band- gaps. Two designs for stop-band tuning can be considered in the modulation functionalities, and thus a tunable dual-state polarization switching for mutually orthogonal polarized lights could be realized. Related applications of this component as a variable in-line polarization router and combiner for optical communication systems are emphasized.