Nanowire array based photonic crystal devices

Photonic crystals consisting of semiconductor nanowire arrays grown using a metal catalyzed vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) method are excellent candidates for photonic elements and devices, such as micro-cavities, due to the high dielectric constant contrast and high aspect ratio. In addition, it is easy to control the crystal structure by patterning the metal catalysis, and the versatility of composition of nanowires (including II-VI, III-V and ternary III-V) makes the integration of optical components in diversified wavelength ranges possible. Here we use a Plane-Wave-Expansion (PWE) method and Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) technique to investigate the optical properties of nanowire based photonic crystals. It is found that arrays consisting of nanowires with radius at or below the edge of the effective single-wire confining range for a stand alone Fabry-Perot cavity can still form a high-Q value cavity with single mode operation. Our results will help to extend the concept of the-state-of-art 1-D distributed bragg reflector (DBR) and distributed feedback (DFB) lasers into 2-D ones with a working range from ultraviolet to near infrared.