High-Q nanocavities in semiconductor-based three-dimensional photonic crystals
The high-quality factors (Q-factors) of nanocavities in three-dimensional photonic crystals were experimentally demonstrated by increasing the in-plane area of the structure. Entire structures made of GaAs were fabricated by a micro-manipulation technique, and the nanocavities contained InAs self-assembled quantum dots that emitted near-infrared light. The obtained Q-factor was improved to 93,000, which is 2.4 times larger than that in a previous report of a three-dimensional photonic crystal nanocavity. Due to this large Q-factor, a lasing oscillation from this cavity mode was successfully observed.