title: Modal-reflectivity enhancement by geometry tuning in Photonic Crystal microcavities.
abstract: When a guided wave is impinging onto a Photonic Crystal (PC) mirror, a fraction of the light is not reflected back and is radiated into the claddings. We present a theoretical and numerical study of this radiation problem for several three-dimensional mirror geometries which are important for light confinement in micropillars, air-bridge microcavities and two-dimensional PC microcavities. The cause of the radiation is shown to be a mode-profile mismatch. Additionally, design tools for reducing this mismatch by tuning the mirror geometry are derived. These tools are validated by numerical results performed with a three-dimensional Fourier modal method. Several engineered mirror geometries which lower the radiation loss by several orders of magnitude are designed.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sauvan
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lecamp
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lalanne
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hugonin