US Patent 7660506 Optical waveguide structures

An optical waveguide structure has a slab type photonic crystal and an optical waveguide provided in the photonic crystal. The photonic crystal has a slab of a dielectric film and a plurality of lattice columns each having dielectric pillars. The dielectric pillars included in the lattice columns at least in n'th order (n represents 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) in distance with respect to said optical waveguide, respectively, has a planar shape of an equilateral polygon or exact circle. At least one of the dielectric pillars included in the lattice columns at least in n'th order (n represents 2, 3, 4 and 5) with respect to the optical waveguide has a size rn different from a fundamental size ro.