The angular sensitivity of guided mode resonant filters (GMRF) is well known. While at times useful for angle tuning of the response, this sensitivity can also be a major detriment as angular changes of tenths of a degree can shift the wavelength response in a narrow bandwidth device by an amount greater than the width of the resonance peak. We identify geometries where the resonance is more angularly stable, demonstrating high reflectivity at the design wavelength for several degrees in both azimuth and inclination angular directions with virtually no change in lineshape of the response. The investigation of GMRFs in both classical and conical mounts through simulation using rigorous coupled wave analysis reveals that there are preferred mounts for greater angular tolerance. We simulate a grating at telecom wavelengths using a design that we have previously fabricated. The identical grating placed in different mounts can exhibit angular tolerances that differ by well over an order of magnitude (60x). The most commonly used classical mount has a much more sensitive angular tolerance than does the conical mount. The lineshape of the resonant response shows only negligible changes across the angular band. The angular band for the sample grating is simulated to be several degrees in the conical mount as opposed to a tenth of a degree in the classical mount. We could thus expand the application space for narrow-band GMRFs into areas where angular tolerance cannot be controlled to the degree that we have believed required in the past.

Date Published: 15 March 2013
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 8633, High Contrast Metastructures II, 86330W (15 March 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2005122

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8633:
High Contrast Metastructures II
Connie J. Chang-Hasnain; Fumio Koyama; Alan Eli Willner; Weimin Zhou, Editor(s)