One-dimensional photonic bandgap microcavities for strong optical confinement in GaAs and GaAs/AlxOy semiconductor waveguides

Photonic bandgap (PBG) waveguide microcavities with tightly confined resonant optical modes have been designed, fabricated using high-dielectric-contrast GaAs/AlxOy, III-V compound semiconductor structures, and characterized optically, The photonic crystal lattices are defined by one-dimensional (1-D) arrays of holes in waveguides, and a controlled defect in the spacing between two holes of an array defines a microcavity, Waveguide microcavity resonances have been studied in both monorail and suspended air-bridge geometries. Resonance states with cavity Q's as high as 360 mere measured at wavelengths near 1.55 mu m, with modal volumes as small as 0.026 mu m(3), which corresponds to only two times (lambda/2n)(3).