Design, fabrication and properties of infrared, 3-D, silicon photonic lattices

Summary form only. 3-D photonic lattices were first proposed and demonstrated in the mid-to-late 1980s. However, due to fabrication difficulties, lattices active in the infrared are only just emerging. A variety of structures and fabrication approaches have been investigated. The most promising approach for many potential applications is a diamondlike structure fabricated using silicon microprocessing techniques. This technique has recently enabled us to fabricate 3-D silicon photonic lattices active in the infrared with bandgaps centered from 12 down to 1.55 /spl mu/m. The ability to fabricate these structures has prompted us to experimentally investigate different designs which have elements of diamond symmetry as well as other symmetries such as simple cubic, inverse face centered cubic, inverse hexagonal close packed, and wurtzite. It is noted that using silicon fabrication processes it is possible to simultaneously fabricate a wide range of different structures during a single process run.