Abstract
Abstract Owing to their wide direct bandgap tunability, III-nitride (III-N) compound semiconductors have been proven instrumental in the development of blue light-emitting diodes that led to the so-called solid-state lighting revolution and blue laser diodes that are used for optical data storage. Beyond such conventional optoelectronic devices, in this review, we explore the progress made in the past 15 years with this low refractive index material family for the realization of microdisks as well as 2D and 1D photonic crystal (PhC) membrane cavities. Critical aspects related to their design and fabrication are first highlighted. Then, the optical properties of passive PhC structures designed for near-infrared such as their quality factor and their mode volume are addressed. Additional challenges dealing with fabrication pertaining to structures designed for shorter wavelengths, namely the visible to ultraviolet spectral range, are also critically reviewed and analyzed. Various applications ranging from second and third harmonic generation to microlasers and nanolasers are then discussed. Finally, forthcoming challenges and novel fields of application of III-N photonic cavities are commented.
Highlights
In the past 20 years, III-nitride (III-N) compound semiconductors have become part of our daily life, as they are at the heart of the solid-state lighting revolution
This can be understood by the trade-off that is required to simultaneously ensure that (i) only the two most fundamental transverse electric (TE)/transverse magnetic (TM) WG modes are present, (ii) the WG will be thick enough to have a surface roughness that is not impacted by pits, and (iii) the embedded active medium will not be plagued by the AlN/GaN interface, whose too close proximity is known to severely alter the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) due to the presence of nonradiative defects
photonic crystal (PhC) counterparts, there is presently a lack of similar strategy for isolated small footprint III-N microdisks operating in the UV to visible range likely because a solution such as that implemented in the far-infrared to promote vertical light emission from whispering gallery modes (WGMs) in microdisks [124] could hardly be adapted to short wavelengths
Summary
In the past 20 years, III-nitride (III-N) compound semiconductors have become part of our daily life, as they are at the heart of the solid-state lighting revolution. In addition to the above-mentioned aspects, III-N nanocavities recently revealed their potential for investigating coherent light emitters operating at the few-photon level [12,13,14] with foreseeable applications for photonic integrated circuits (PICs) or lab-on-a-chip light sources Owing to their biocompatibility and their reduced invasiveness, III-N nanoresonators could offer promising perspectives in the field of optogenetics where cellular activity can be manipulated on-demand by exploiting the sensitivity of engineered proteins to blue and green photons [15]. This wide range of topics demonstrates that III-Ns can serve as a suitable toolbox to propel nanophotonics toward novel frontiers. A brief summary about this field of research and an outlook will be given
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