Proposal and finite-difference time-domain simulation of whispering gallery mode microgear cavity

The existence of many high Q whispering gallery modes in microdisk and microcylinder lasers seriously affects the internal efficiency in lasing operation and disturbs the enhancement of the spontaneous emission factor. To suppress these modes except for one lasing mode, we propose the microgear cavity having a grating with the same period as that of the mode standing wave. A finite-difference time-domain simulation theoretically demonstrates that the microgear selects one resonant mode that satisfies the unique condition regarding the mode order and the phase. This paper describes the dependence of the mode behavior on some structural parameters, and concludes that a deep grating, which seems to be possible in an experiment, allows for sufficient suppression of any types of nonlasing modes and the enhancement of the Q factor of the lasing mode.