Two-dimensional Photonic Crystal Patterns Research Articles

Hot embossing of photonic crystal polymer structures with a high aspect ratio

Hot embossing is a promising approach for mass production of photonic crystal structures. This paper describes the fabrication of a replication tool for two-dimensional photonic crystal patterns and its replication in substrates of poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) and cyclic olefin copolymer (COC). A nickel tool for the replication of structures with lateral dimensions of 110 nm and heights of approximately 370 nm is fabricated via electroplating of a nanostructured sample resulting in an aspect ratio of approximately 3.5. The structures are subsequently hot embossed into PMMA and COC substrates.

Full wafer scale nanoimprint lithography for GaN-based light-emitting diodes

A UV-imprinting process for a full wafer was developed to enhance the light extraction of GaN-based green light-emitting diodes (LEDs). A polyvinyl chloride flexible stamp was used in the imprinting process to compensate for the poor flatness of the LED wafer. Two-dimensional photonic crystal patterns with pitches ranging from 600 to 900 nm were formed on the p-GaN top cladding layer of a 2 inch diameter wafer using nanoimprint and reactive ion etching processes. As a result, the optical output power of the patterned LED device was increased by up to 44% at a driving current of 20 mA by suppressing the total internal reflection and enhancing the irregular scattering of photons at the patterned p-GaN surface.

GaN-based light-emitting diodes directly grown on sapphire substrate with holographically generated two-dimensional photonic crystal patterns

As an approach to enhance light extraction from GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs), we inserted a submicron period photonic crystal (PC) pattern at the interface between GaN epilayer and sapphire substrate. A two-dimensional square-lattice pillar array of 600-nm period was produced directly onto the sapphire substrate by a combination of laser holography and inductively -coupled-plasma etching. A standard GaN LED heterostructure was grown on top of the nano-patterned substrate, which was then processed to conventional bottom-emitting LED chips. At the drive current of 20 mA, the PC-LED produced surface-normal output power about 40% higher than that of the reference LED (with no PC integrated). Temperature-dependent photoluminescence measurement indicated that the emission enhancement was solely a structural effect by the integrated PC pattern.

Fabrication of two-dimensional photonic crystal patterns on GaN-based light-emitting diodes using thermally curable monomer-based nanoimprint lithography

The fabrication process of photonic crystals in a p-GaN layer was established to improve the light extraction efficiency of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) by using nanoimprint lithography and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching process. Due to low etch selectivity of imprinted pattern, Cr mask patterns were lifted-off from the p-GaN surface and ICP etch process was followed using SiCl4-based plasma. As a result, two-dimensional pillar array patterns were uniformly fabricated on the p-GaN layer and the photoluminescence intensity of the photonic crystal patterned LED was increased by 2.6 fold compared to that of the same LED sample without photonic crystal patterns.

Enhanced light extraction from GaN-based light-emitting diodes with holographically generated two-dimensional photonic crystal patterns

We observed a significant enhancement in light output from GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in which two-dimensional photonic crystal (PC) patterns were integrated. Two-dimensional square-lattice air-hole array patterns with a period that varied from 300 to 700 nm were generated by laser holography. Unlike the commonly utilized electron-beam lithographic technique, the holographic method can make patterns over a large area with high throughput. The resultant PC-LED devices with a pattern period of ∼500nm had more than double the output power, as measured from the top of the device. The experimental observations are qualitatively consistent with the results of three-dimensional finite-difference-time-domain simulation.

Controllable two-dimensional photonic crystal patterns fabricated by nanosphere lithography

Two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystal patterns have been fabricated by an improved nanosphere lithography method. By introducing an intermediary SiO2 layer between the self-assembled layer and the substrate, this method can be applied to a wide range of materials without much concern for their surface hydrophilicity. The controllability of the photonic crystal patterns has also been investigated. The air-filling factor of the photonic crystal patterns can be easily tailored by thinning the polymer nanospheres in inductively coupled O2 plasma with a controllable etch rate. Large-area ordered 512nm pitch hole array, with vertical and smooth sidewalls, has been successfully formed on a GaAs substrate, indicating the potential application in photonic crystal devices of this method.