Tunable photonic crystal circuits: concepts and designs based on single-pore infiltration

We demonstrate that the infiltration of individual pores of certain two-dimensional photonic crystals with liquid crystals and (or) polymers provides an efficient platform for the realization of integrated photonic crystal circuitry. As an illustration of this principle, we present designs for monomode photonic crystal waveguides and certain functional elements, such as waveguide bends, beam splitters, and waveguide intersections. These devices exhibit very low reflection over broad frequency ranges. In addition, we discuss the inherent tunability of these devices that originates in the tunability of the infiltrated material. (C) 2004 Optical Society of America.