title: Study of thermally-induced optical bistability and the role of surface treatments in Si-based mid-infrared photonic crystal cavities.
abstract: We report the observation of optical bistability in Si-based photonic crystal cavities operating around 4.5 µm. Time domain measurements indicate that the source of this optical bistability is thermal, with a time constant on the order of 5 µs. Quality (Q) factor improvement is shown by the use of surface treatments (wet processes and annealing), resulting in a significant increase in Q-factor, which in our best devices is on the order of ~45,000 at 4.48 µm. After annealing in a N(2) environment, optical bistability is no longer seen in our cavities.
authors: School of Engineering And Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. shankar2@fas.harvard.edu
authors: Raji
authors: R
authors: Shankar
authors: Irfan
authors: I
authors: Bulu
authors: Rick
authors: R
authors: Leijssen
authors: Marko
authors: M
authors: Lončar
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007259:Infrared Rays; D008027:Light; D008422:Materials Testing; D017785:Photons; D012031:Refractometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D012825:Silicon