title: Design and fabrication of photonic crystal quantum cascade lasers for optofluidics.
abstract: We present novel designs and demonstrate a fabrication platform for electrically driven lasers based on high quality-factor photonic crystal cavities realized in mid-infrared quantum cascade laser material. The structures are based on deep-etched ridges with their sides perforated with photonic crystal lattice, using focused ion beam milling. In this way, a photonic gap is opened for the emitted TM polarized light. Detailed modeling and optimization of the optical properties of the lasers are presented, and their application in optofluidics is investigated. Porous photonic crystal quantum cascade lasers have potential for on-chip, intracavity chemical and biological sensing in fluids using mid infrared spectroscopy. These lasers can also be frequency tuned over a large spectral range by introducing transparent liquid in the photonic crystal holes.
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 19 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. loncar@deas.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Marko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Loncar
authors.forename: Benjamin G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Diehl
authors.forename: Mikhail A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Belkin
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Capasso
authors.forename: Marcella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giovannini
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Faist
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gini