Time-variant 1D photonic crystals using flowing microdroplets

Zefeng Chen, Zehui Yong, Chi Wah Leung, Xuming Zhang, Yihang Chen, Helen L.W. Chan, Yu Wang

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this paper we propose a time-variant photonic crystal, which can be formed by a stream of wave-length-scale microdroplets flowing through a microfluidic channel. The functionality stems from the photonic bandgap generated from the 1D periodic perturbation of refractive index. The periodicity, volume fraction and composition of both the dispersed and the continuous phases can be conveniently tuned in real time by hydrodynamic or pneumatic methods. By simulation, it is found that the timevariant nature of the proposed structure can induce an abnormal energy evolution, which is distinct from any existing photonic crystal structures. As a basic component for optofluidic systems, the droplet-based photonic crystal may find potential applications in light modulation and light confinement, and could be an ideal model for pursuing physical insights into time-variant optofluidic systems.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)24330-24341
Number of pages12
JournalOptics Express
Volume20
Issue number22
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 22 Oct 2012

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

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