Reconfigurable Mode coupling between Bragg and Surface Plasmon Modes in Super Three-dimensional Microplasma Photonic Crystals

Super three-dimensional (s3D) microplasma photonic crystals have been designed and realized at the University of Illinois. Such s3D microplasma photonic crystals have periodicity in all three dimensions where each capillary can be filled with different materials such as metallic, dielectric, and plasma elements, so numerous possible configurations are allowed in such s3D photonic structures. In this work, a dynamic mode-splitting phenomenon is shown in a metallic waveguide-resonator structure built in the microplasma photonic crystal, then a theoretical calculation is given based on the coupled-mode theory. This is beyond the recent report [1].

Reconfigurable transmittance spectra and wave group velocities in 110 – 170 GHz frequency regimes are shown by changing plasma parameters and photonic crystal spatial structure. A Dynamic mode-splitting around 131.8 GHz in transmittance spectra is experimentally and theoretically studied in this work. The coupling strength can be tuned by changing the AC power supplies on the plasma which is changing the electron densities and permittivity in the plasma. The coupled-mode theory was used to calculate the coupling strength as well as transmittance spectra. It can be seen that theoretical results fit well with the experimental results.