Polarization-differentiated band dynamics of resonant leaky modes at the lattice Γ point

Abstract

In the physical description of photonic lattices, leaky-mode resonance and bound states in the continuum are central concepts. Understanding of their existence conditions and dependence on lattice parameters is of fundamental interest. Primary leaky-wave effects are associated with the second stop band at the photonic lattice Γ point. The pertinent band gap is defined by the frequency difference between the leaky-mode band edge and the bound-state edge. This paper address the polarization properties of the band gaps resident in laterally periodic one-dimensional photonic lattices. We show that the band gaps pertinent to TM and TE leaky modes exhibit significantly differentiated evolution as the lattice parameters vary. This is because the TM band gap is governed by a surface effect due to the discontinuity of the dielectric constant at the interfaces of the photonic lattice as well as by a Bragg effect due to the periodic in-plane dielectric constant modulation. We find that when the lattice is thin (thick), the surface (Bragg) effect dominates the Bragg (surface) effect in the formation of the TM band. This leads to complex TM band dynamics with multiple band closures possible under parametric variation. In complete contrast, the TE band gap is governed only by the Bragg effect thus exhibiting simpler band dynamics. This research elucidates the important effect of polarization on resonant leaky-mode band dynamics whose explanation has heretofore not been available. © 2020 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement