Nanophotonics

(left) Scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of a GaAs microdisk optical resonator
(center) SEM image of a Si photonic crystal optical resonator
(right) Numerical simulation of an optical mode in a photonic crystal resonator.

Nanofabrication technology can be used to pattern and etch sub-micron-scale features in semiconductor and dielectric materials such as gallium arsenide (GaAs), silicon (Si), and silicon nitride (SiN_x). In an appropriate geometry, such as a resonant cavity, these etched features can confine light to wavelength-scale dimensions, generating intense intracavity optical fields for modest input powers. Our research is focused on the design, fabrication, and characterization of such structures, and their application in areas such as cavity quantum electrodynamics with semiconductor quantum dots, novel light-emitting devices utilizing introduced and embedded gain media, and sensitive micro/nanophotonic-based detectors and transducers.

Cryogenic optical probe setup for nanophotonic device characterization
Study of strong light-matter interactions in chip-based optical cavities (Collaborator: Professor Oskar Painter, Caltech)

Kartik Srinivasan - NIST

Online: December 2007
Last Updated: December 2007

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