Enhancement of light extraction from two-dimensional photonic crystal slab structures

Efficient light extraction from various two-dimensional photonic crystal slab structures is studied. By using the finite-difference time-domain method, effects of finite air-hole depth, and the cladding refractive index on the light extraction efficiency are investigated. The largest extraction efficiency is obtained in the photonic crystal slab with entirely drilled air hole patterns and large index contrast with the bottom cladding. Using InGaAsP quantum wells emitting at 1.5 /spl mu/m large enhancement of photoluminescence is observed from the slab structures with air-hole patterns fully transferred through the active medium and the bottom cladding. The photoluminescence enhancement relative to the as-grown wafer is /spl sim/8 in the oxide-supported slab and /spl sim/13 in the free-standing slab. The large light extraction enhancement results from the coupling to leaky modes above the light line of a band structure. In addition, the extraction behaviors of a triangular lattice and a square lattice are compared, and it is shown that their distinctive extraction characteristics well reflect the features of each band structure.

[1]  T. S. Tan,et al.  High-power truncated-inverted-pyramid (AlxGa1−x)0.5In0.5P/GaP light-emitting diodes exhibiting >50% external quantum efficiency , 1999 .

[2]  A. Scherer,et al.  30% external quantum efficiency from surface textured, thin‐film light‐emitting diodes , 1993 .

[3]  Axel Scherer,et al.  Defect Modes of a Two-Dimensional Photonic Crystal in an Optically Thin Dielectric Slab , 1999 .

[4]  E. Schubert,et al.  Highly Efficient Light-Emitting Diodes with Microcavities , 1994, Science.

[5]  Kenichi Iga,et al.  Strong enhancement of light extraction efficiency in GaInAsP 2-D-arranged microcolumns , 1999 .

[6]  T. Krauss,et al.  Spontaneous emission extraction and Purcell enhancement from thin-film 2-D photonic crystals , 1999 .

[7]  J. Joannopoulos,et al.  High Extraction Efficiency of Spontaneous Emission from Slabs of Photonic Crystals , 1997 .

[8]  Eli Yablonovitch,et al.  Light extraction from optically pumped light-emitting diode by thin-slab photonic crystals , 1999 .

[9]  Eli Yablonovitch,et al.  Ultrahigh spontaneous emission quantum efficiency, 99.7% internally and 72% externally, from AlGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs double heterostructures , 1993 .

[10]  I. Y. Han,et al.  Effect of nonradiative recombination on light emitting properties of two-dimensional photonic crystal slab structures , 2001 .

[11]  Y.H. Lee,et al.  Continuous room-temperature operation of optically pumped two-dimensional photonic crystal lasers at 1.6 μm , 2000, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[12]  Thomas F. Krauss,et al.  Photonic crystals in the optical regime — past, present and future , 1999 .

[13]  Gustaaf Borghs,et al.  Impact of texture-enhanced transmission on high-efficiency surface-textured light-emitting diodes , 2001 .

[14]  A. Scherer,et al.  Surface plasmon enhanced light-emitting diode , 2000, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics.

[15]  J. Joannopoulos,et al.  Rate-equation analysis of output efficiency and modulation rate of photonic-crystal light-emitting diodes , 2000, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics.

[16]  J. Joannopoulos,et al.  Photonic crystals: putting a new twist on light , 1997, Nature.

[17]  Dong Hoon Jang,et al.  Continuous room-temperature operation of optically pumped two-dimensional photonic crystal lasers at 1.6 /spl mu/m , 2000, QELS 2000.

[18]  L. Coldren,et al.  Diode Lasers and Photonic Integrated Circuits , 1995 .

[19]  Dong Hoon Jang,et al.  Room-temperature triangular-lattice two-dimensional photonic band gap lasers operating at 1.54 μm , 2000 .

[20]  Yong-Hee Lee,et al.  Conditions of single guided mode in two-dimensional triangular photonic crystal slab waveguides , 2000 .

[21]  J. Joannopoulos,et al.  Enhanced coupling to vertical radiation using a two-dimensional photonic crystal in a semiconductor light-emitting diode , 2001 .

[22]  William L. Barnes,et al.  Electromagnetic crystals for surface plasmon polaritons and the extraction of light from emissive devices , 1999 .

[23]  Allen Taflove,et al.  Computational Electrodynamics the Finite-Difference Time-Domain Method , 1995 .

[24]  Yong-hee Lee,et al.  Over 30-fold enhancement of light extraction from free-standing photonic crystal slabs with InGaAs quantum dots at low temperature , 2001 .