Compact and fault-tolerant photonic crystal add drop filter

International audienceWe propose an add-drop filter consisting of two adjacent waveguides carved into a two-dimensional photonic crystal that is etched through a standard guiding structure. This filter is based on distributed energy transfer via the frequency-selective intermediate conversion of the fundamental guided mode to a high-order low-group-velocity mode. This geometry circumvents the fabrication sensitivity on the single-hole scale of previous cavity-based designs. Combining distributed energy transfer and reduced group velocity preserves compactness. The design is analytically optimized with a coupled-mode approach

Measurement of Extraction and Absorption Parameters in GaN-based Photonic-crystal Light-emitting Diodes

The light extraction efficiency of photonic-crystal (PhC) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) relies on the competition between the PhC extraction and dissipation mechanisms of the guided light within the LED. This work presents the experimental determination of the PhC extraction length of each guided mode and the absorption coefficient of the active region (AR) and quantum wells (QWs) from the observation of the LED far-field emission using a high-resolution angle-spectrum-resolved measurement. The angular and spectral linewidths of the extracted guided modes reveal, depending on the spectral range, the modal extraction length of the PhCs, the AR absorption length, or a combination of both. Modes with a high confinement with the QWs presented a shorter absorption length compared with their extraction length by a shallow surface PhC (95-nm-deep), meaning that the AR absorption was a more efficient mechanism than the PhC extraction. The measured modal extraction length of the shallow surface PhC varied in the range of 55–120 μm, which determines the minimum dimensions of the device and the maximum acceptable dissipation length for an efficient extraction of the guided light by the PhCs. This paper presents also a discussion on the PhC designs that yield PhC extraction lengths shorter than other dissipation lengths, a fundamental requirement for high-efficiency PhC LEDs. The same technique was also applied to estimate the absorption coefficient of the InGaN-based QWs, and can be extended to experimentally determine losses by metallic layers from electrical contacts or other dissipation mechanisms, which are parameters of interest to a broader class of optoelectronic devices, not only PhC LEDs.Engineering and Applied Science

Localization landscape theory of disorder in semiconductors. III. Application to carrier transport and recombination in light emitting diodes

This paper introduces a novel method to account for quantum disorder effects into the classical drift-diffusion model of semiconductor transport through the localization landscape theory. Quantum confinement and quantum tunneling in the disordered system change dramatically the energy barriers acting on the perpendicular transport of heterostructures. In addition they lead to percolative transport through paths of minimal energy in the 2D landscape of disordered energies of multiple 2D quantum wells. This model solves the carrier dynamics with quantum effects self-consistently and provides a computationally much faster solver when compared with the Schr\"odinger equation resolution. The theory also provides a good approximation to the density of states for the disordered system over the full range of energies required to account for transport at room-temperature. The current-voltage characteristics modeled by 3-D simulation of a full nitride-based light-emitting diode (LED) structure with compositional material fluctuations closely match the experimental behavior of high quality blue LEDs. The model allows also a fine analysis of the quantum effects involved in carrier transport through such complex heterostructures. Finally, details of carrier population and recombination in the different quantum wells are given.Comment: 14 pages, 16 figures, 6 table

Spontaneous emission enhancement at a photonic wire miniband edge

International audienceIn a multimode photonic-crystal waveguide, we observe strong enhancement of the photoluminescence of embedded quantum dots at the edges of the so-called mini-stopband that were opened by Bragg diffraction between two guided modes. Taking into account light collection, we relate this observation to the singular photon density of states that is characteristic of a one-dimensional photon system. Furthermore, we quantify by how much the radiation losses smooth the divergence. For the first time to our knowledge, a clear account of the control of spontaneous emission in a one-dimensional system is thus demonstrated

GaN/InGaN light emitting diodes with embedded photonic crystal obtained by lateral epitaxial overgrowth

International audienceWe introduce GaN/InGaN light emitting diodes with a dielectric photonic crystal embedded in the epitaxial layer by lateral epitaxial overgrowth on a patterned GaN template. Overgrowth, coalescence, and epitaxial growth of the pn junction within a thickness of 500 nm is obtained using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. This design strongly modifies the distribution of guided modes, as confirmed by angle-resolved measurements. The regime of operation and potential efficiency of such structures are discussed