Development of curved two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguides

A two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguide with a novel geometry is introduced. The center line of this waveguide is bent along a free-curve such that the direction of the propagating light can be changed without scattering or reflection losses. The design method is described for a triangular lattice, its optical properties such as transmission spectrum and dispersion relation are calculated, and actual devices are then fabricated and demonstrated that they worked as optical waveguides.