Experimental verification of guided modes in 60°-bent defect waveguides in AlGaAs-based air-bridge-type two-dimensional photonic crystal slabs

Sixty-degree-bent defect waveguides (DWGs) in an AlGaAs-based air-bridge-type two-dimensional photonic crystal (2D PC) slab were fabricated, and the resulting optical transmission spectra and the plan-view image of the optical beam propagating along the bent DWG were measured in the wavelength range between 850 and 1100 nm. Using the two output ports of the stripe waveguides, one aligned to and another offset from the output edge of the bent DWG, the guided mode specific to the DWG and the slab mode in the defect-free PC slab were experimentally observed with the same sample. These results were verified using the calculated band structure and transmission spectra. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.