Optical self-phase modulation using a new photonic crystal coupled-cavity waveguide

In this paper, self-phase modulation of an optical pulse using a new photonic crystal coupled-cavity waveguide is simulated and analyzed. The structure of the new coupled-cavity waveguide is introduced and its advantage over the previous type of coupled-cavity waveguide is discussed. In order to obtain a high group index over a large bandwidth and benefit from the slow light phenomenon, the group index and group velocity dispersion parameter curves of the guided mode are calculated. Finally, the transient simulation of the structure is performed using a finite-difference time-domain method. The calculated required length of the coupled-cavity waveguide for a maximum phase shift of π is about 31 μm. Spectral broadening of the optical pulse as a result of self-phase modulation is also presented and discussed.