Filling the simulation-to-reality gap: high-degree-of-freedom AI-optimized photonic crystal nanobeam resonators with fabrication tolerance.

In this work, we unveil a novel, to the best of our knowledge, AI-based design method (AIDN1) specifically developed for photonic crystal resonator designs, capable of handling complex designs with over 10 degrees of freedom (DoFs) and considering practical fabrication uncertainties to minimize the common simulation-to-reality (sim2real) gap. Especially, we introduce an ultrashort (<5 µm) curved nanobeam resonator, which obtains an ultrahigh theoretical quality factor (Q-factor) of 2 × 10 and maintains a theoretical Q-factor above 10 even under high fabrication variations. Importantly, we emphasize that AIDN1 is generalizable and our work serves as a solid foundation for future laser fabrication endeavors beyond the realm of ultrashort 1D photonic crystal (PhC) resonators.