Photonic bandstructure in semiconductor slab waveguides with strong two-dimensional texture

Fabrication techniques were developed and used to realize sub-100 nm-thick semiconductor membranes that contain two-dimensional (2D) square arrays of holes that completely penetrate the membrane. With the pitch of the arrays on the order of 500 nm, broadband optical reflectivity spectra obtained from these "2D planar photonic crystal membranes" reveal resonant features with energies and linewidths that disperse as the in-plane momentum (angle of incidence) of the exciting radiation is varied in the near-infrared. A numerical solution of Maxwell’s equations was developed to interpret these reflectivity spectra in terms of a "photonic bandstructure" for electromagnetic modes localized in the vicinity of the porous membrane. A complete understanding of the complex (energy and lifetime) dispersion and polarization properties of this interesting new class of optical materials was obtained. It is shown that this bandstructure can be largely explained by applying symmetry considerations to the renormalization of slab waveguide modes by the high index contrast 2D scattering potential.Science, Faculty ofPhysics and Astronomy, Department ofGraduat