Design and Modelling

Design and modelling are two very crucial aspects in Nanophotonics. The conception and simulation of nanostructures need to be consolidated before any fabrication of the structure can be undertaken. The complexity of the three dimensional hybrid structures precludes analytical solution of equations governing the electromagnetic field confinement or propagation. Hence numerical methods are employed based either on Frequency-domain or Time-domain methods.
Our choice is the Finite Difference Time Domain which relies on the direct calculation of the time evolution of the electromagnetic field and the response which gives many of the parameters necessary for the predicting accurately the specific behaviour of the structures such as phtooniccrystal nanocavities or slow-light waveguides

3D FDTD calculation of the photonic band structure of a 1D photonic crystal. The Ey spatial electric field distribution is represented at frequencies corresponding to the edges of the dielectric and air bands.

 

3D FDTD calculation of the Ey spatial electric field distribution at frequencies corresponding to the resonant modes of a nanobeam cavity (from A. Bazin et al, JLT. 32, 952-58 (2014))

 

Besides the calculation of the electromagnetic properties of our structures, we also carry out numerical studies or modelling to determine the thermal and the electrical properties of our optoelectronic nanodevices.