Abstract:
Photonic crystals are meta-materials that can inhibit the propagation
of light in all directions for specific wavelength ranges. Material or
structural defects can be introduced into the crystal to cause localised
modes, providing the ability to mould the flow of light on the wavelength
scale and allowing the development of miniaturised, integrated
photonic devices. For this reason, photonic crystals will likely be key
building blocks for future micro-optical and communication technology.
In this paper, we examine the Bloch mode modelling of 2D photonic
crystal structures with application to the analysis of photonic
crystal waveguides and their susceptibility to disorder, which provides
a framework for studying fabrication tolerances in realistic devices.
