Bound states in the continuum and high-Q resonances supported by a dielectric ridge on a slab waveguide

We investigate the diffraction of the guided modes of a dielectric slab waveguide on a simple integrated structure consisting of a single dielectric ridge on the surface of the waveguide. Numerical simulations based on aperiodic rigorous coupled-wave analysis demonstrate the existence of sharp resonant features and bound states in the continuum (BICs) in the reflectance and transmittance spectra occurring at the oblique incidence of a transverse-electric (TE)-polarized guided mode on the ridge. Using the effective index method, we explain the resonances by the excitation of cross-polarized modes of the ridge. Formation of the BICs are confirmed using a theoretical model based on coupled-wave theory. The model suggests that the BICs occur due to the coupling of quasi-TE and quasi-transverse-magnetic modes of the structure. Simple analytical expressions for the angle of incidence and the ridge width predicting the location of the BICs are obtained. The existence of high-Q resonances and BICs enables using the considered integrated structure for sensing, transformation of optical signals, and enhancing nonlinear light-matter interactions. Due to the Lorentzian line shape of the resonances near the BICs, the structure is also promising for filtering applications. (C) 2018 Chinese Laser Press