Software-based teaching of optical demultiplexers by using photonic crystals with presenting the syllabus for MSc students in electronic engineering major

Abstract

Background and Objective:Software-based education is one of the most important ways to transfer knowledge in the field of new technologies. Because the hardware implementation of some modern science phenomena is not possible due to its complexity or sometimes due to the lack of appropriate manufacturing technology. Therefore, appropriate software can be used to teach such phenomena. One of the sciences and technologies that has grown significantly in recent years is photonic crystal structures, which have also appeared in new editions of graduate courses syllabuses as photon crystals. In this paper, simulation-based (software-based) teaching of a 4-channel optical demultiplexer based on photonic crystal is presented by using the R-Soft software. Methods: The teaching of the demultiplexer structure is based on the use of a photonic crystal filter. In this analysis, with the variation of the radius of the cylindrical nano-ring resonator and the radius of the scattering rods, the critical length parameter of 1573.6 nm is improved in the design of the filter. The advantages of the 4-channel demultiplexer include the mean quality factor of 4525, mean channel power transfer factor of 95%, and maximum and minimum channel cross-talk of -19.6 and -40.4, respectively. Also, mean channel width is obtained as 0.375 nm. Moreover, the proposed 4-channel demultiplexer can be used in WDM systems. Findings: The simulation-based teaching of these structures is very important to develop and improve the multiplexers performance. Therefore, the related syllabus is suggested for master of science (MSc) students in Electronic Engineering major. This syllabus can be considered as a part of Photonic Crystal or Photonics courses. Conclusion: In this paper, a 4-channel optical demultiplexer based on photonic crystal was studied. In order to teach the theoretical principles and foundations which are mostly complex and its hardware implementation is difficult due to technological limitations, the use of appropriate software environments along with strengthening the basic knowledge required can Improve teaching-learning processes. For this purpose, in this article, we tried to express the appropriate concepts of designing a four-channel optical dimplexplexor system for effective training. Accordingly, the proposed principles and topics as well as the prerequisites in the design were described. In the training section of the four-channel dimplex structure, it was stated that a T-shaped input waveguide, square resonator rings and several output waveguides can be used ===================================================================================== COPYRIGHTS ©2019 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers. =====================================================================================

Keywords

• simulation-based teaching
• software-based teaching
• syllabus
• photonic crystal
• demultiplexer