Design for ultrahigh-Q position-controlled nanocavities of single semiconductor nanowires in two-dimensional photonic crystals

Using finite-difference time-domain simulation, we show that ultrahigh-Q nanocavities can be obtained through the manipulation of a single semiconductor nanowire (NW) inside a slot in a line defect of a two-dimensional photonic crystal. By controlling the design and its lattice parameters of the photonic crystal, we have achieved a quality factor Q larger than 10(6) and a mode volume V-c smaller than 0: 11 mu m(3) (1.25 of a cubic wavelength in the NW) for a cavity peak in the telecommunication band. This design is useful for realizing a position-controlled cavity in a photonic crystal. Here, we also discuss the small dependence of the Q-factor, the V-c, and the cavity peak in relation to the position of the NW inside the slot and the potential application to the cavity quantum electrodynamics using the embedded-emitter NW. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4768437]