Silicon Photonics / Photovoltaics
Light-Emitters in Photonic Crystals
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M. Zacharias, S. Richter, and R. Hillebrand
The concept of a photonic crystal is the optical analogue to a semiconductor. The generated dispersion relation for photons corresponds to the bandstructure for electrons and determines the existence of photonic states within the photonic crystal. The introduction of defects to the photonic crystal therefore creates additional states within the photonic bandgap. These defect states allow the spatial confinement and guiding of light.
We present studies on hexagonal point defects in a twodimensional photonic crystal of silicon. These point defects are arranged periodically, forming a superstructure within the photonic crystal. Optical investigations related to their morphological properties are compared to the bandstructure and to the local density of states (LDOS) calculations. The confined defect states were identified and their quality factors were also estimated to evaluate the interaction between neighbouring point defects.
To investigate the influence of the cavity on internal light emitters, colloidal HgTe quantum dots were infiltrated into single cavities and their emission was measured by photoluminescence spectroscopy.
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