High Q-factor TM modes in three-dimensional semiconductor microresonators

We have investigated the mode characteristics for three-dimensional (3D) semiconductor microresonators by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique. The results show that the quality-factors (Q-factors) of TM-like modes are much larger than those of TE-like modes as the vertical waveguidng formed by semiconductor materials.

Experimental investigation of slow light phenomenon in photonic crystal waveguide line defect laser

The guide mode whose frequency locates in the band edge in photonic crystal single line defect waveguide has very low group velocity. So the confinement and gain of electromagnetic field in the band edge are strongly enhanced. Photonic crystal waveguide laser is fabricated and the slow light phenomenon is investigated. The laser is pumped by pulsed pumping light at 980nm whose duty ratio is 0.05%. The active layer in photonic crystal slab is InGaAsP multiple quantum well. Light is transimited by a photonic crystal chirp waveguide in one facet of the laser. Then the output light is coupled to a fiber and the character of laser is analysis by an optical spectrometer. It is found that single mode and multimode happens with different power of pumping light. Meanwhile the plane wave expansion and finite-difference time-domain methods are used to simulate the phenomenon of slow light. And the result of the experiment is compared with the theory which proves the slow light results in lasing oscillation.

Investigation of vertical radiation loss for whispering-gallery modes in 3-D microresonators by FDTD simulation

The vertical radiation loss of three-dimensional (3-D) microresonators is investigated by 3-D finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation. The simulation shows that the vertical radiation causes an important loss in the microresonators with weak waveguiding, and result in decrease of the quality factors (Q-factors) of whispering-gallery (WG) modes. Through the simulation, we find that TM-like modes have much weaker vertical radiation loss than TE-like modes. High Q-factor TM-like modes are observed in the 3-D microresonators with weak vertical waveguiding, but the Q-factors of TE-like modes decrease greatly.

High-quality-factor EH modes in microcylinder resonators predicted by 3D FDTD simulation

The mode characteristis of a microcylinders with center layer thickness 0.2 mu m and radius 1 mu m are investigated by the three-dimensional (31)) finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique and the Pade approximation. The mode quality factor (Q-factor) of the EH71 mode obtained by 3D FDTD increase with the increase of the refractive index of the cladding layer n(2) as n(2) smaller than 3.17, and can be as large as 2.4 x 10(4) as the vertical refractive index distribution is 3.17/3.4/3.17, which is much larger than that of the HE71 mode with the same vertical refractive index distribution.

Influence of dispersive coupling coefficient in microring channel drop filters

Wide transmission dips are observed in the through spectra in microring and racetrack channel drop filters by two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation. The transmission spectra, which reflect the coupling efficiency, are also calculated from the FDTD output as the pulse just travels one circle inside the resonator. The results indicate that the dips are caused by the dispersion of the coupling coefficient between the input waveguide and the resonator. In addition, a near-zero channel drop on resonance and a large channel drop off resonance are observed due to the near zero coupling coefficient and a large coupling coefficient, respectively. If the width of the input waveguide is different from that of the ring resonator, the oscillation of the coupling coefficient can be greatly suppressed.

Dipole mode photonic crystal point defect laser on InGaAsP/InP

In this paper, we focus on the dipole mode of the two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystal (PC) single point defect cavity (SPDC) lasers and we report the fabrication and characterization of 2D PC SPDC lasers with the structure of adjusted innermost air holes. The photonic band and cavity Q factors are simulated by means of plane wave expansion (PWE) and finite-difference time-domain (FDTD), respectively. In order to improve the optical confinement of the SPDC, the diameter of the innermost holes was adjusted. Different lasing performances are observed experimentally. The experimental results agree with the theoretical prediction very well. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

InGaAsP-InP Square Microlasers With a Vertex Output Waveguide

InGaAsP-InP square microlasers with a vertex output waveguide are fabricated by planar processes, and the etched sidewalls of the lasers are confined by insulating layer SiO2 and p-electrode TiAu metals. For a square microlaser with a side length of 30 mu m and a 2-mu m-wide output waveguide, a continuous-wave threshold current is 26 mA at room temperature and output power is 0.72 mW at 86 mA. The mode interval of 21 and 7.4 nm is observed for the microlasers with the side length of 10 and 30 mu m, respectively. Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations indicate that the lasing modes have incident angles of about 45 degrees at the boundaries of the resonator. In addition, square resonators surrounded by air, SiO2-Ti-Au, and SiO2-Au are compared by FDTD simulations.

AlGaInAs-InPMicrocylinder Lasers Connected With an Output Waveguide

AlGaInAs-InPmicrocylinder lasers connected with an output waveguide are fabricated by planar technology. Room-temperature continuous-wave operation with a threshold current of 8 mA is realized for a microcylinder laser with the radius of 10 mu m and the output waveguide width of 2 mu m. The mode Q-factor of 1.2 x 10(4) is measured from the laser spectrum at the threshold. Coupled mode characteristics are analyzed by 2-D finite-difference time-domain simulation and the analytical solution of whispering-gallery modes. The calculated mode Q-factors of coupled modes are in the same order as the measured value.

Analysis of directional emission in square resonator lasers with an output waveguide

Square microcavity laser with an output waveguide is proposed and analyzed by the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique. For a square resonator with refractive index of 3.2, side length of 4 microns, and output waveguide of 0.4-micron width, we have got the quality factors (Q factors) of 6.7×10~2 and 7.3×10~3 for the fundamental and first-order transverse magnetic (TM) mode near the wavelength of 1.5 microns, respectively. The simulated intensity distribution for the first-order TM mode shows that the coupling efficiency in the waveguide reaches 53%. The numerical simulation shows that the first-order transverse modes have fairly high Q factor and high coupling efficiency to the output waveguide. Therefore the square resonator with an output waveguide is a promising candidate to realize single-mode directional emission microcavity lasers.

光子晶体的微腔特性

为了设计一种高品质因子的光子晶体微腔和研究单缺陷光子晶体微腔谐振模波长随晶格常数的变化规律,使用时域有限差分法（difference time-domain method）和基于Baker算法的Padé近似方法计算了半导体材料上空气孔阵列光子晶体微腔的谐振模波长和品质因子.得到的新型光子晶体微腔的品质因子达246510,单缺陷光子晶体微腔模波长随晶格常数α和孔半径r的近似为线性变化关系

Applicatioo of Pade Approximation in Simulating Photonic Crystals

To save finite-difference time-domain(FDTD) computing time, several methods are proposed to convert the time domain FDTD output into frequency domain. The Padé approximation with Baker's algorithm and the program are introduced to simulate photonic crystal structures. For a simple pole system with frequency 160THz and quality factor of 5000,the intensity spectrum obtained by the Padé approximation from a 28-item sequence output is more exact than that obtained by fast Fourier transformation from a 220-item sequence output. The mode frequencies and quality factors are calculated at different wave vectors for the photonic crystal slab from a much shorter FDTD output than that required by the FFT method,and then the band diagrams are obatined. In addition,mode frequencies and Q-factors are calculated for photonic crystal microcavity.

Modulation of Photonic Bandgap and Localized States by Dielectric Constant Contrast and Filling Factor in Photonic Crystals

The band structure of 2D photonic crystals (PCs) and localized states resulting from defects are analyzed by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique and Pade approximation. The effect of dielectric constant contrast and filling factor on photonic bandgap (PBG) for perfect PCs and localized states in PCs with point defects are investigated. The resonant frequencies and quality factors are calculated for PCs with different defects. The numerical results show that it is possible to modulate the location, width and number of PBGs and frequencies of the localized states only by changing the dielectric constant contrast and filling factor.

Potential light source for photonic integrated circuits based on the equilateral triangle resonator

The semiconductor microlasers based on the equilateral triangle resonator (ETR) can be fabricated from the edge-emitting laser wafer by dry-etching technique, and the directional emission can be obtained by connecting an output waveguide to one of the vertices of the ETR. We investigate the mode characteristics, especially the mode quality factor, for the ETR with imperfect vertices, which is inevitable in the real technique process. The numerical simulations show that the confined modes can still have a high quality factor in the ETR with imperfect vertices. We can expect that the microlasers is a suitable light source for photonic integrated circuits.

Flat Surface Plasmon Polariton Bands in Bragg Grating Waveguide for Slow Light

The formations of the surface plasmonpolariton (SPP) bands in metal/air/metal (MAM) sub-wavelength plasmonic grating waveguide (PGW) are proposed. The band gaps originating from the highly localized resonances inside the grooves can be simply estimated from the round trip phase condition. Due to the overlap of the localized SPPs between the neighboring grooves, a Bloch mode forms in the bandgap and can be engineered to build a very flat dispersion for slow light. A chirped PGW with groove depth varying is also demonstrated to trap light, which is validated by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations with both continuous and pulse excitations.

Broadband short-range surface plasmon structures for absorption enhancement in organic photovoltaics

We theoretically demonstrate a polarization-independent nanopatterned ultra-thin metallic structure supporting short-range surface plasmon polariton (SRSPP) modes to improve the performance of organic solar cells. The physical mechanism and the mode distribution of the SRSPP excited in the cell device were analyzed, and reveal that the SRSPP-assisted broadband absorption enhancement peak could be tuned by tailoring the parameters of the nanopatterned metallic structure. Three-dimensional finite-difference time domain calculations show that this plasmonic structure can enhance the optical absorption of polymer-based photovoltaics by 39% to 112%, depending on the nature of the active layer (corresponding to an enhancement in short-circuit current density by 47% to 130%). These results are promising for the design of organic photovoltaics with enhanced performance.