Microcavity confinement based on an anomalous zero group-velocity waveguide mode

We propose and demonstrate a mechanism for small-modal-volume high-Q cavities based on an anomalous uniform waveguide mode that has zero group velocity at a nonzero wave vector. In a short piece of a uniform waveguide with a specially designed cross section, light is confined longitudinally by small group-velocity propagation and transversely by a reflective cladding. The quality factor Q is greatly enhanced by the small group velocity for a set of cavity lengths that are separated by approximately pi/k(0), where k(0) is the longitudinal wave vector for which the group velocity is zero. (C) 2005 Optical Society of America.