Photonic crystal waveguides: Out-of-plane losses and adiabatic modal conversion

Abstract
An accurate model for the out-of-plane radiation losses occurring when a guided wave propagating in a conventional waveguide impinges on a photonic crystal waveguide is presented. The model makes clear that the losses originate from insertion losses resulting from a mode mismatch. A generic taper structure realizing an adiabatic modal conversion is proposed and validated through numerical computations for cavities with large Q’s and large peak transmission.