Abstract
The ability to confine and control light in three dimensions would have important implications for quantum optics and quantum-optical devices: the modification of black-body radiation, the localization of light to a fraction of a cubic wavelength, and thus the realization of single-mode light-emitting diodes, are but a few examples1,2,3. Photonic crystals — the optical analogues of electronic crystal — provide a means for achieving these goals. Combinations of metallic and dielectric materials can be used to obtain the required three-dimensional periodic variations in dielectric constant, but dissipation due to free carrier absorption will limit application of such structures at the technologically useful infrared wavelengths4. On the other hand, three-dimensional photonic crystals fabricated in low-loss gallium arsenide show only a weak ‘stop band’ (that is, range of frequencies at which propagation of light is forbidden) at the wavelengths of interest5. Here we report the construction of a three-dimensional infrared photonic crystal on a silicon wafer using relatively standard microelectronics fabrication technology. Our crystal shows a large stop band (10–14.5 μm), strong attenuation of light within this band (∼12 dB per unit cell) and a spectral response uniform to better than 1 per cent over the area of the 6-inch wafer.
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Acknowledgements
We thank J. R. Wendt and G. A. Vawter for discussions, and S. Sucher, P. Shea and the rest of the Material Development Laboratory processing team for support. The work at Sandia National Laboratories is supported through the US Department of Energy. Sandia is a multiprogramme laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the US Department of Energy. Ames Laboratory is operated for the US Department of Energy by Iowa State University.
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Lin, S., Fleming, J., Hetherington, D. et al. A three-dimensional photonic crystal operating at infrared wavelengths. Nature 394, 251–253 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/28343
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/28343
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