Properties of defect modes in one-dimensional photonic crystals containing two nonlinear defects

Transmission properties of one-dimensional photonic crystal with two nonlinear defects were investigated based on the nonlinear transfer matrix method. From the inspection of the optical bistabilities around different defect modes, it was found that the threshold of bistability for the bonding mode is always lower than that for the anti-bonding mode. When intensity of the incident wave increases bistability could happen at any wavelength larger than the resonance wavelength of the linear anti-bonding mode in the gap. The threshold of bistability increases initially with the wavelength, then decreases sharply in reaching the resonance wavelength of the linear bonding mode. The coupling behavior of the two defects was also discussed, and it was found that the threshold of bistability increases with the distance between the two defects. A flat spectrum similar to that formed in the photonic crystal molecules was obtained under certain incident intensity. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.