Hybrid Si-VO2 modulator with ultra-high extinction ratio based on slot TM mode.

Nowadays, the development of modern optical systems relies on optical device size minimization and operating power reduction. Optical modulator based on silicon on insulator (SOI) platform is a key element in different optical systems. Therefore, the optical modulator with compact size and low insertion loss could improve the optical system efficiency. In this work, a novel compact optical modulator based on hybrid plasmonic/silicon layers is introduced. The full vectorial finite element method (FV-FEM) is used to numerically analyze the proposed design. Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is also utilized as a cap layer to control the modulation process. The insertion loss (IL) and extinction ratio (ER) of the suggested modulator are equal to 2.1 dB/µm and 28 dB/µm, respectively, at the operating wavelength 1.55 µm. Consequently, high figure-of-merit (FoM) =ER/IL = 13.5 is achieved with an optical bandwidth (ER > 3 dB) greater than 1 µm, which is large in comparison to pervious designs.

Efficient rational Chebyshev pseudo-spectral method with domain decomposition for optical waveguides modal analysis.

We propose an accurate and computationally efficient rational Chebyshev multi-domain pseudo-spectral method (RC-MDPSM) for modal analysis of optical waveguides. For the first time, we introduce rational Chebyshev basis functions to efficiently handle semi-infinite computational subdomains. In addition, the efficiency of these basis functions is enhanced by employing an optimized algebraic map; thus, eliminating the use of PML-like absorbing boundary conditions. For leaky modes, we derived a leaky modes boundary condition at the guide-substrate interface providing an efficient technique to accurately model leaky modes with very small refractive index imaginary part. The efficiency and numerical precision of our technique are demonstrated through the analysis of high-index contrast dielectric and plasmonic waveguides, and the highly-leaky ARROW structure; where finding ARROW leaky modes using our technique clearly reflects its robustness.

Optimized tapered dipole nanoantenna as efficient energy harvester.

In this paper, a novel design of tapered dipole nanoantenna is introduced and numerically analyzed for energy harvesting applications. The proposed design consists of three steps tapered dipole nanoantenna with rectangular shape. Full systematic analysis is carried out where the antenna impedance, return loss, harvesting efficiency and field confinement are calculated using 3D finite element frequency domain method (3D-FEFD). The structure geometrical parameters are optimized using particle swarm algorithm (PSO) to improve the harvesting efficiency and reduce the return loss at wavelength of 500 nm. A harvesting efficiency of 55.3% is achieved which is higher than that of conventional dipole counterpart by 29%. This enhancement is attributed to the high field confinement in the dipole gap as a result of multiple tips created in the nanoantenna design. Furthermore, the antenna input impedance is tuned to match a wide range of fabricated diode based upon the multi-resonance characteristic of the proposed structure.

Efficient smoothed finite element time domain analysis for photonic devices.

In this paper, a new finite element method (FEM) is proposed to analyse time domain wave propagation in photonic devices. Dissimilar to conventional FEM, efficient "inter-element" matrices are accurately formed through smoothing the field derivatives across element boundaries. In this sense, the new approach is termed "smoothed FEM" (SFETD). For time domain analysis, the propagation is made via the time domain beam propagation method (TD-BPM). Relying on first order elements, our suggested SFETD-BPM enjoys accuracy levels comparable to second-order conventional FEM; thanks to the element smoothing. The proposed method numerical performance is tested through applicating on analysis of a single mode slab waveguide, optical grating structure, and photonic crystal cavity. It is clearly demonstrated that our method is not only accurate but also more computationally efficient (far few run time, and memory requirements) than the conventional FEM approach. The SFETD-BPM is also extended to deal with the very challenging problem of dispersive materials. The material dispersion is smartly utilized to enhance the quality factor of photonic crystal cavity.

Ultra-high tunable liquid crystal-plasmonic photonic crystal fiber polarization filter.

A novel ultra-high tunable photonic crystal fiber (PCF) polarization filter is proposed and analyzed using finite element method. The suggested design has a central hole infiltrated with a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) that offers high tunability with temperature and external electric field. Moreover, the PCF is selectively filled with metal wires into cladding air holes. Results show that the resonance losses and wavelengths are different in x and y polarized directions depending on the rotation angle φ of the NLC. The reported filter of compact device length 0.5 mm can achieve 600 dB / cm resonance losses at φ = 90° for x-polarized mode at communication wavelength of 1300 mm with low losses of 0.00751 dB / cm for y-polarized mode. However, resonance losses of 157.71 dB / cm at φ = 0° can be achieved for y-polarized mode at the same wavelength with low losses of 0.092 dB / cm for x-polarized mode.