Generation,Properties And Applications Of Optical Solitons In Nonlinear Photonic Crystal Waveguides

We investigate the generation, properties and applications of optical solitons in nonlinear photonic crystal (PC) waveguides by theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. In general, PC waveguides are formed by creating line defects in perfect PCs. Basically, there exists huge group velocity dispersion (GVD) near the edge of the impurity bands corresponding to PC waveguides. When nonlinearity is introduced into the PC waveguides, the nonlinear induced self-phase modulation (SPM) effect could balance the effect of GVD, leading to the generation of optical solitons. It is found that the PC waveguide length necessary for the generation of optical solitons is only several to several tenth of micrometers, in sharp contrast to that in conventional optical fibers. In addition, we investigate the transmission of optical solitons through sharp waveguide bends. It is observed that perfect transmission of optical solitons with negligible attenuation and distortion can be achieved by properly designing the structure of waveguide bend.Our studies also reveal that nonlinear PC waveguides can be employed to effectively compress subpicosecond pulses based on the formation of higher-order optical solitons. Since optical solitons are ideal forms for the transportation of optical signals, nonlinear PC waveguides bends and related functional devices will find their potential applications in future PC integrated circuits.