Properties, applications and fabrication of photonic crystals with ring-shaped holes in silicon-on-insulator

We show that photonic crystals with ring-shaped holes (RPhCs) exhibit superior properties compared to conventional photonic crystals (PhCs). At low air-fill factors RPhCs can have a larger bandgap than conventional PhCs. Moreover, RPhC waveguides with both high group index and small group velocity dispersion can be designed. RPhC waveguides are also more sensitive to external refractive index changes, which is attractive for sensor applications. Finally we set up a procedure to pattern RPhCs in silicon-on-insulator.