High Q H1 photonic crystal nanocavities with efficient vertical emission

We report on newly-designed H1-type photonic crystal (PhC) nanocavities that simultaneously exhibit high Q factors, small mode volumes, and high external coupling efficiencies (η) of light radiated above the PhC membrane. Dipole modes of the H1 PhC nanocavities, which are doubly-degenerate and orthogonally-polarized in theory, are investigated both by numerical calculations and experiments. Through modifying the sizes and positions of the air-holes near to the defect cavity, a Q factor of 62,000 is achieved, accompanied with an improved η of 0.38 (assuming an objective lens with a numerical aperture of 0.65). A further increase of η to more than 0.60 is observed at the expense of slight degradation of Q factor (down to 50,000). We further experimentally confirm the increase of both Q and η, using micro-photoluminescence measurements, and demonstrate high Q factors up to 25,000: the highest value ever reported for dipole modes in H1 PhC nanocavities.