High Figure of Merit Optical Buffering in Coupled-Slot Slab Photonic Crystal Waveguide with Ionic Liquid

Abstract

Slow light with adequate low group velocity and wide bandwidth with a flat band of the zero-dispersion area were investigated. High buffering capabilities were obtained in a silicon-polymer coupled-slot slab photonic crystal waveguide (SP-CS-SPCW) with infiltrating slots by ionic liquid. A figure of merit (FoM) around 0.663 with the lowest physical bit length Lbit of 4.6748 µm for each stored bit in the optical communication waveband was gained by appropriately modifying the square air slot length. Posteriorly, by filling the slots with ionic liquid, the Lbit was enhanced to be 4.2817 μm with the highest FoM of 0.72402 in wider transmission bandwidth and ultra-high bit rate in terabit range, which may become useful for the future 6G mobile communication network. Ionic liquids have had a noticeable effect in altering the optical properties of photonic crystals. A polymer was used for the future incorporation of an electro-optic effect in buffers to realize the dynamic controlling of optical properties. Ionic liquids enhanced the transmission rate through optical materials. Additionally, the delay time in the ns-range was achieved, providing longer delay and ultra-low group velocity, which is important for light-matter interaction in light amplifiers and nonlinear devices.