MEM's modulated photonic crystals

Abstract

Summary form only given. We present a pictorial portfolio of various 2 and 3 dimensional crystal structures which have been conceived, and indicate the applications, such as opto-electronic devices. In photonic crystals there can be localized electromagnetic modes that result from "donor" defects, and "acceptor" defects in the periodic structure. The frequencies of these localized modes is sensitively controlled by the exact position of a very tiny dielectric "impurity". Thus photonic crystals can be exquisitely sensitive to very small motions or movements of a very tiny amount of dielectric material. This may translate to a very high speed of MEM's modulation speed of the photonic crystal switching properties. In addition, due to the inherent miniaturization of photonic crystals, a high level of complexity can be accommodated, allowing for example, large, high speed switchable arrays.