Design for ultrahigh-Q position-controlled nanocavities of single semiconductor nanowires in 2D photonic crystals

Abstract

Using Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) 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 (2D) photonic crystal. By controlling the design and its lattice parameters of the photonic crystal, we have achieved a quality factor Q larger than 106 and a mode volume Vc smaller than 0.11 μm3 (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 Qfactor, the Vc, and the cavity peak in relation to the position of the NWinside the slot and the potential application to the cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) using the embedded-emitter NW.

22 pages, 8 figures, to appear, Journal of Applied Physics 112 (2012)