Microcavity light sources

Summary form only given. Microcavity light sources have become important for their potential application in optical communication and imaging. Near single-mode operation, increased directionality and enhanced modulation bandwidth can be obtained from a microcavity light emitting diode in which the device dimensions are of the order of the wavelength of operation. Microcavity light emitters can be realized by using DBRs, air-semiconductor interfaces, oxide apertures and photonic crystals with defects in the lattice. Some characteristics of air-post and oxide-confined InP-based 1.55 μm microcavity light-emitting diodes will be presented. Perhaps, the most appealing technique to realize a true photonic microcavity with minimum modal volume is to use a photonic bandgap (PBG) crystal with a single or multiple defects. The fabrication and characteristics of electrically injected single-defect PBG crystal light emitters (λ~0.9 μm) will be described and discussed. Preliminary results from similar devices emitting at ~1.55 μm will also be presented. Finally, the effects of placing quantum dots in such microcavities will be presented and discussed