M. Rattier

Optical and confinement properties of two-dimensional photonic crystals

We describe experiments on a quasi-two dimensional (2-D) optical system consisting of a triangular array of air cylinders etched through a laser-like Ga(Al)As waveguiding heterostructure. Such a configuration is shown to yield results very well approximated by the infinite 2-D photonic crystal (PC). We first present a set of measurements of the optical properties (transmission, reflection, and diffraction) of slabs of these photonic crystals, including the case of in-plane Fabry-Perot cavities formed between two such crystals. The measurement method makes use of the guided photoluminescence of embedded quantum wells or InAs quantum dots to generate an internal probe beam. Out-of-plant, scattering losses are evaluated by various means. In a second part, in-plane micrometer-sized photonic boxes bounded by circular trenches or by two-dimensional photonic crystal are probed by exciting spontaneous emission inside them. The high quality factors observed in such photon boxes demonstrate the excellent photon confinement attainable in these systems and allow to access the detail of the modal structure. Last, some perspectives for applications are offered.

Low-loss channel waveguides with two-dimensional photonic crystal boundaries

We have used transmission measurements to estimate the propagation loss of submicron channels defined in two-dimensional photonic crystals patterned into a Ga(Al)As waveguide. The measured propagation loss of the fundamental mode is indistinguishable from the material absorption, setting an upper limit of 50 cm−1 (2 dB per 100 μm). We also find that, provided the etching is deep enough, propagation losses of these photonic crystal waveguides are lower than those of ridge waveguides etched in the same run.

Miniband transmission in a photonic-crystal coupled-resonator optical waveguide

We demonstrate in the near infrared the coupled-resonator optical waveguide (CROW) concept that was recently proposed by Yariv et al. [Opt. Lett.24, 711 (1999)]. Two-dimensional photonic crystals have been used to define, in a GaAs-based waveguiding heterostructure, an array of micrometer-sized hexagonal cavities coupled through thin walls. With the photoexcitation of InAs quantum dots as an internal source, the transmission spectra of the coupled resonators show marked minibands and minigaps, in agreement with theoretical predictions.

Omnidirectional and compact guided light extraction from Archimedean photonic lattices

We address the issue of extracting light from a waveguide towards air in a compact way for randomly oriented guided waves. The goal is to enhance the extraction efficiency of light-emitting diodes while retaining planar processing. For incidence-angle-independent extraction, preferred lattice designs appear to possess a ring-shaped Fourier transform. We demonstrate this property for an Archimedean lattice. This system is the outer part of a resonant-cavity light-emitting diode. Data suggest that ∼40% extraction efficiency is at hand in a planar top-emitting device retaining its substrate.

Coupled guide and cavity in a two-dimensional photonic crystal

We demonstrate, in a planar two-dimensional (2D) configuration, in the optical regime a clear association of two photonic crystal elements and the ability to produce a low-loss coupled system. A channel waveguide is brought to between two and five crystal rows (450 to 1126 nm) from a 2D microcavity fabricated in a GaAs/AlGaAs waveguide. We probe these two elements individually and explore their interaction.

Toward ultrahigh-efficiency aluminum oxide microcavity light-emitting diodes: guided mode extraction by photonic crystals

In this paper, we present an improved version of microcavity light-emitting diodes, relying on the use of a low-index material, aluminum oxide. Our work addresses in particular the injection scheme required by the insulating nature of this oxide. The device we fabricated demonstrated efficiencies up to 28% in air, using only planar technology. In these structures, most of the emission is guided. We further propose to include photonic crystals to extract this guided light. The design of the photonic crystals are discussed and substantiated by photoluminescence-based experiments.

Resonant and nonresonant transmission through waveguide bends in a planar photonic crystal

We have measured the near-infrared transmission spectra of 60° bends defined in two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguides consisting of three missing rows. Two limit cases are studied: a basic nonresonant bend and a bend built around a resonant lozenge cavity, which is found to exhibit peaked transmission. Finite-difference-time-domain simulations show very good agreement with the data allowing general design issues for efficient bends to be discussed.

Finite-depth and intrinsic losses in vertically etched two-dimensional photonic crystals

We address the issue of out-of-plane losses in two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystals (PC) etched through a GaAs monomode waveguide clad with standard GaAlAs alloys. We correlate experimental transmission of PCs with two kinds of loss simulation results. The first kind is 2D and introduces an ad hoc imaginary index in the air holes to account for the losses [see (Benisty et al. Appl. Phys. Lett. 76, 532, 2000)]. The second kind is a novel exact three-dimensional calculation inspired by grating-Fourier analysis that provides quantitatively unprecedented agreement with experimental measurements taking into account hole depth as a limiting parameter. We conclude that, in revision to the conclusions of the above reference, the experimental losses are not the intrinsic ones, being larger by a factor of 5 to 10 due to insufficient hole depth. The transition occurs at a critical etch depth shown to be here around 700 nm. We thus predict, for holes deeper than 700 nm, much improved crystals with very low transmission losses and microresonators with ultra-high quality factors.

Performance of waveguide-based two-dimensional photonic-crystal mirrors studied with Fabry-Perot resonators

As a step toward the use of photonic crystals in optoelectronic devices, we present a thorough study of 2-D photonic-crystal mirrors etched into a GaAs-AlGaAs planar waveguide. Fabry-Perot resonators are fabricated to deduce the reflectivity, transmission, losses, as well as the penetration lengths of these mirrors. The guided photoluminescence of InAs quantum dots embedded in GaAs is used to obtain the transmission spectra of these cavities. The varying thickness between the mirrors allows a scan across the whole bandgap spectral range. Quality factors (up to 200) and peak transmissions (up to 0.3) are measured showing that mirrors of four rows of holes have 88% reflectivity, 6% transmission and 6% losses. Losses are also related to a two-dimensional transfer matrix method calculation including a recently introduced scheme to account for losses.

Recent results and latest views on microcavity LEDs

We are progressively approaching the physical limits of microcavity LEDs (MC-LEDs) for high brightness, high efficiency LEDs. They are promising high efficiency devices and they offer the very attractive prospect of full planar fabrication process. However, to compete with other high efficiency LED schemes, they need to approach or surpass the 50 % efficiency mark. We first explore the limits of planar MC-LEDs in both the GaAlInAsP and GaInAlN materials systems, and show that the single-step extraction limit is in the 40 % range at best, depending on the materials system used, with the largest part of the non-extracted light being emitted into guided modes. The waveguided light can itself be extracted by photon recycling, when the internal quantum efficiency is high. Otherwise, another extraction scheme for that light is provided by various photonic-crystal-assisted extraction schemes. Simple photonic crystals (PCs) appear to lack the omnidirectional extraction properties required. However, more rotation-invariant PCs like Archimedean tilings allow to obtain such extraction with added efficiencies already in the 10% range. We discuss the further improvements to such structures.