Bloch surface waves at the telecommunication wavelength with Lithium Niobate as top layer for integrated optics

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the design, fabrication, and characterization of lithium niobate-based dielectric media supporting Bloch surface waves at 1550 nm, enabling advanced integrated optical devices with potential nonlinear and tunable functionalities.

Contribution

It introduces a novel 1D photonic crystal with thin film lithium niobate for efficient Bloch surface wave propagation at telecommunication wavelengths.

Findings

BSW propagation distance of 3 mm achieved

Supports nonlinear optical properties at 1550 nm

Potential for tunable BSW devices via external stimuli

Abstract

Lithium niobate (LN) based devices are widely used in integrated and nonlinear optics. This material is robust and resistive to high temperatures, which makes the LN-based devices table, but challenging to fabricate. In this work we report on the design, manufacturing and characterization of engineered dielectric media with thin film lithium niobate (TFLN) on top for the coupling and propagation of electromagnetic surface waves at the telecommunication wavelengths. The designed one-dimentional photonic crystal (1DPhC) sustains Bloch surface waves at the multilayer/air interface at 1550 nm wavelength with a propagation detected over a distance of 3 mm. The working wavelength and improved BSW propagation parameters open the way for exploration of nonlinear properties of BSW based devices. It is also expected that these novel devices will modify BSW propagation and coupling by external thermal/electrical stimuli due to the improved quality of the TFLN top layer of 1DPhC.