Two-dimensional photonic crystal semiconductor lasers: computational design, fabrication, and characterization

We have designed, fabricated, and tested two-dimensional (2-D) slab photonic crystal semiconductor lasers at communication wavelengths. Wavelength-size microresonators defined on the 2-D slab photonic crystal have been effective in photon confinement and functioned well as ultra-small lasers by optical pumping. The photonic crystal laser structures that we have tested have shown large quality factors and low thresholds.