Progress in photonic crystal quantum-dot and quantum-well lasers

The combination of structures with low-dimensional electronic confinement (quantum dots/dashes/wells) and photonic crystals in semiconductor lasers allows the integration of additional optical functionality in a very compact manner. In addition to providing ultimate control over the electronic and photonic states in the device, there are also practical benefits from this combination. The compact footprint of photonic crystal based devices allows very simple integration schemes of active and passive sections on the same layer structure. Several devices types for applications in telecommunication and sensing based on these approach are discussed.