Structural tuning of guiding modes of line-defect waveguides of silicon-on-insulator photonic crystal slabs

We experimentally demonstrate the structural tuning of the waveguiding modes of line defects in photonic crystal (PC) slabs. By tuning the defect widths, we realized efficient single-mode waveguides that operate within photonic band gap frequencies in silicon-on-insulator PC slabs. The observed waveguiding characteristics agree very well with three-dimensional finite difference time-domain calculations. We also directly measured the propagation loss of the line defect waveguides and obtained a value of 6 dB/mm.