Planar photonic crystal polarization splitter.

The differential dispersion relation for the E and H modes (TM-like and TE-like, respectively) in planar photonic crystals is used to control the polarization-dependent propagation of light. E- and H-polarized beams were separated by 10 degrees after propagating through a 20-microm-long planar photonic crystal in the wavelength range from 1250 to 1300 nm. The plane-wave expansion calculation matches well with the experimental results. This result represents the first demonstration, to our knowledge, of a polarization splitter realized in a planar photonic crystal configuration in the near-infrared wavelength range operating solely in transmission mode.