Strained V-groove quantum wires in multidimensional microcavities

Dense and uniform arrays of ∼10 nm-size strained V-groove quantum wires (QWRs) were fabricated. The intense and narrow (5 meV) emission from the wires is strongly polarized along its axis. Distinct one dimensional properties are indicated by narrow (6 meV) subbands separated by over ∼20 meV, together with a remarkably small Stokes shift (3 meV). Such QWR arrays were successfully incorporated into high finesse Q∼3000, wavelength size microcavities of different dimensionalities, i.e. planar microcavities, photon wires and photon boxes. Strong alteration of the wire optical properties due to the cavity is observed in the spatial and spectral domains. Increasingly rich photon mode structure for decreasing cavity dimensionalities is evidenced, leading to fully discretized and dispersionless modes in the photon box case. Those strained QWRs in microcavities are ideal candidates for the realization of advanced light sources combining strain effects with multidimensional quantum confinement for both carriers and photons.