Mapping of complex optical field patterns in multimode photonic crystal waveguides by near-field scanning optical microscopy

We use near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) operating in collection mode to map the optical field distribution of continuous wave infrared light propagating along an air-bridged W3 silicon photonic crystal (PC) slab multimode waveguide in a subwavelength resolution. The detected near-field optical intensity distribution patterns show very different longitudinal propagation features and transverse field profiles at different wavelength ranges. We have analyzed the dispersion of the guided modes in the PC waveguide and the corresponding eigenfield profile for each guided mode by means of the three-dimensional plane-wave expansion simulations. It is found that the experimentally observed complex while interesting near-field pattern features can be well explained by the field profiles of the multiple waveguide modes and their superposition at different excitation wavelengths. The detection and analysis of this multimode PC slab waveguide via NSOM could help us to understand complex wave propagation behavior and to further design novel PC devices.