Vol. 44, Issue 1, pp. 5-15 (2014)

Abstract

In this paper, a heterostructure photonic crystal multichannel drop filter based on ring resonators and microcavities is presented. This structure has been made in the form of a two-dimensional square lattice with two regions with refractive indexes of 3.464 and 3.86. The refractive indexes are so chosen as to allow the easy and practical fabrication of the device. The presented heterostructure photonic crystal multichannel drop filter consists of a waveguide, two ring resonators and a microcavity. This microcavity is placed at the end of the bus waveguide. The ring resonators have been installed in two regions with different refractive indexes. These ring resonators act as energy couplers, and at their resonance frequencies, they capture the electromagnetic energy which is transmitted in the bus waveguide. Filter characteristics have been obtained by using the finite difference time domain method. Finally, we will demonstrate that in the optimal structure, at ports B and D (vertical), drop efficiencies close to 90% and 67%, respectively, can be obtained within the third communication window, and at port C (horizontal), an efficiency of almost 80% can be achieved within the second communication window.