Abstract

A dramatic modification of the electromagnetic mode structure can be achieved in materials with a periodically modulated index of refraction known as photonic crystals. For the appropriate structure parameters, such as its geometry and index contrast, one obtains an optical band gap. Particularly interesting are structures that contain spatial defects and leading to localized modes corresponding to frequencies in the band gap. Such structures have been proposed for the realization of low-threshold microlasers because of their potential for controlling radiation properties of emitters in them.

© 2000 IEEE