English

Centimeter-scale suspended photonic crystal mirrors

Optics 2018-01-22 v2 Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics

Abstract

Demand for lightweight, highly reflective and mechanically compliant mirrors for optics experiments has seen a significant surge. In this aspect, photonic crystal (PhC) membranes are ideal alternatives to conventional mirrors, as they provide high reflectivity with only a single suspended layer of patterned dielectric material. However, due to limitations in nanofabrication, these devices are usually not wider than 300 μ\mum. Here we experimentally demonstrate suspended PhC mirrors spanning areas up to 10×\times10 mm. We overcome limitations imposed by the size of the PhC and measure reflectivities greater than 90% on 56 nm thick mirrors at a wavelength of 1550 nm -- an unrivaled performance compared to PhC mirrors with micro scale diameters. These structures bridge the gap between nano scale technologies and macroscopic optical elements.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1707.08128,
  title  = {Centimeter-scale suspended photonic crystal mirrors},
  author = {Joao P. Moura and Richard A. Norte and Jingkun Guo and Clemens Schäfermeier and Simon Gröblacher},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1707.08128},
  year   = {2018}
}