Spotlight Publication “Photonic crystals with split ring unit cells for subwavelength light confinement” published in Optics Letters
About the author: Kellen P. Arnold is currently a second-year graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary materials science under the direction of Dr. Sharon Weiss. The Weiss group focuses on advancing silicon photonics for communications, sensing, and quantum information by leveraging nanoscale light-matter interactions in photonic crystal devices. Kellen’s recent publication proposes a new photonic crystal unit cell called the split ring, which consists of a “C” superimposed in a traditional etched airhole. This design strongly concentrates energy in subwavelength-scale air- or water-filled region. This work offers design strategies for manipulating the properties of light in on-chip dielectric structures and substantiates the need for a library of photonic crystal unit cells – each tailored to specific applications and fabrication tolerances.