Hollow microstructural waveguides for propagation of infrared radiation

Author

Vermeulen, Fred E. ; James, C.R. ; Robinson, A.M.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. Eng., Alberta Univ., Edmonton, Alta., Canada

Volume

9

Issue

9

fYear

1991

fDate

9/1/1991 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1053

Lastpage

1060

Abstract

Theoretical results are presented on the propagation of infrared radiation in micron-sized parallel plane waveguides whose walls are gold-coated and separated by empty space. Propagation characteristics of the TE₁₀, TM₁₀, and TEM modes are described. The most loss-free propagation occurs for the TE₁₀ mode, due to the high reflectance for s polarization at the gold-coated surface. The results, when extrapolated to propagation in hollow micron-sized waveguides of rectangular cross section, suggest that propagation is possible over a significant number of wavelengths in spite of the large circumference of such guides in relation to their cross-sectional area. Theoretical indications are that the most loss-free structures would have losses on the order of 0.3 dB/cm

Keywords

optical losses; optical waveguide theory; Au coated walls; IR radiation propagation; TE₁₀ modes; TEM modes; TM₁₀ modes; high reflectance; hollow microstructural waveguides; loss-free propagation; losses; micron-sized parallel plane waveguides; rectangular cross section; s polarization; Dielectric losses; Gas detectors; Hollow waveguides; Optical devices; Optical sensors; Optical surface waves; Optical waveguides; Planar waveguides; Propagation losses; Silicon;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Lightwave Technology, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0733-8724

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/50.85800

Filename

85800