Fabrication and Lasing Operation of Semiconductor Two-Dimensional Photonic Crystals

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High performance and large scale integration required for next era photonic networks are difficult to realize within the present technology. Photonic crystals (PCs) allow the extremely strong optical confinement by their multi-dimensional periodic structures, ultrahigh speed and efficient light emission, and large scale integration by the high density optical wiring. In this study, we investigated semiconductor two-dimensional (2D) PC lasers and related technologies. 2D PCs with an in-plane periodicity has a less effective light control, but enables the easier fabrication, compared with 3D PCs. The introduction of a point defectprovides the in-plane resonance, which results in the Purcell effect and the thresholdless lasing operation. The introduction of a line defect provides a small optical waveguide with sharp bends, which can be used for high density optical wiring. However, at the first stage of the PC research, the structure needed a high aspect ratio process of semiconductors and a low surface recombination velocity material. This restricted applications of PCs. In our early study, we employed InP-based materials with a slow surface recombination velocity, and fabricated the 2D crystal exhibiting a characteristic spontaneous emission. In addition, we achieved a world smallest laser by a similar microstructure in this material. Based on these results, we realized simple structures and processes of the 2D PC and obtained the room temperature lasing operation in this study. In addition, we studied some related technologies, i.e., a high extraction efficiency LEDs, line defect photonic crystal waveguides, superprism filter and optical deflector based on peculiar dispersion characteristics, third order nonlinear photonic crystals and high efficiency input/output interfaces.