High Q photonic crystal cavities with tapered air holes

F. S. F. Brossard; S. G. Schirmer; A. R. A. Chalcraft; D. M. Whittaker

doi:10.1117/12.874212

21 February 2011 High Q photonic crystal cavities with tapered air holes

F. S. F. Brossard, S. G. Schirmer, A. R. A. Chalcraft, D. M. Whittaker

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7933, Physics and Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices XIX; 79331W (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.874212
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2011, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

The quality factor (Q) of resonators defined in photonic crystal (PhC) membranes is known to be sensitive to the tapering of the air-holes. A small deviation from an ideal structure with perfectly vertical holes can result in orders of magnitude decrease in the Q, hence greatly jeopardizing applications of such devices in the field of cavity quantum electrodynamics (cQED). Tapering breaks the vertical reflection symmetry of the structure, allowing confined TE-like cavity modes to couple to the resonant continuum of lossy TM-like modes. We show, using a combination of finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) modeling and plane wave expansion method (PWE), that the membrane thickness plays a critical role in the mode coupling. By choosing the thickness about a third of the wavelength of the mode, the high Q of a PhC cavity can be restored despite 10 degrees taper. These findings show that high Q resonators relatively insensitive to the tapering are achievable.

Citation Download Citation

F. S. F. Brossard, S. G. Schirmer, A. R. A. Chalcraft, and D. M. Whittaker "High Q photonic crystal cavities with tapered air holes", Proc. SPIE 7933, Physics and Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices XIX, 79331W (21 February 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.874212

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