Polarization-independent waveguiding with annular photonic crystals

A linear waveguide in an annular photonic crystal composed of a square array of annular dielectric rods in air is demonstrated to guide transverse electric and transverse magnetic modes simultaneously. Overlapping of the guided bands in the full band gap of the photonic crystal is shown to be achieved through an appropriate set of geometric parameters. Results of Finite-Difference Time-Domain simulations to demonstrate polarization-independent waveguiding with low loss and wavelength-order confinement are presented. Transmission through a 90° bend is also demonstrated.