Mid-infrared sub-wavelength grating mirror design: tolerance and influence of technological constraints

High polarization selective Si/SiO2 mid-infrared sub-wavelength grating mirrors with large bandwidth adapted to VCSEL integration are compared. These mirrors have been automatically designed for operation at \lambda = 2.3 $\mu$m by an optimization algorithm which maximizes a specially defined quality factor. Several technological constraints in relation with the grating manufacturing process have been imposed within the optimization algorithm and their impact on the optical properties of the mirror have been evaluated. Furthermore, through the tolerance computation of the different dimensions of the structure, the robustness with respect to fabrication errors has been tested. Finally, it appears that the increase of the optical performances of the mirror imposes a less tolerant design with severer technological constraints resulting in a more stringent control of the manufacturing process.Comment: The final publication is available at http://iopscience.iop.org/2040-8986/13/12/125502