Analysis of a novel photonic-crystal LOM structure engraved in a Ti:Er:LiNbO3 waveguide for 1.55 µm emission

International audienceA novel laterally overmodulated (LOM) structure of lithium niobate photonic crystals (PCs) is presented and theoretically analyzed with band diagrams calculated by the plane-wave expansion technique for periodic structures and transmission spectra evaluated by the 2D finite-difference time domain (FDTD) method. The LOM structure is based on a triangular lattice of air holes drilled in the top surface of a titanium-diffused erbium-doped lithium niobate waveguide Ti:Er:LiNbO3. The LOM operates in a distributed-feedback (DFB)-like regime and its parameters are designed to maximize the spontaneous emission rate at 1.55 µm. The first experiment shows an optical amplification close to 9 dB at 1.55 µm