All-optically controlled one-dimensional photonic crystal of AlGaN film via photorefractive effect

In this work, we report theoretical design of one-dimensional photonic crystal of Al0.4Ga0.6N material, in which the photonic band is formed and controlled all-optically via photorefractive effect. The simulation results show that the photorefractively periodic variation of refractive index, enhanced by the strong polarization field in AlGaN material, gives evident photonic band gap, and the band feature is a function of the incidence direction of illumination and signal light. Moreover, the response time of photonic band writing and erasing can be greatly reduced by applying high electron mobility transistor structure, and the work frequency is expected to enter GHz range. The results demonstrate a simple, high efficiency, high speed, and flexible way of realizing photonic crystal all-optically.