Emission properties of high-Q silicon nitride photonic crystal heterostructure cavities

We report on the fabrication and optical characterization of photonic crystal (PC) double-heterostructure cavities made from silicon nitride (SiN). The intrinsic luminescence of the SiN membranes was used as an internal light source in the visible wavelength range (600-700 nm) to study the quality factor and polarization properties of the cavity modes. Quality factors of up to 3400 were found experimentally, which represents the highest value reported so far in low-index PCs. These results highlight the role of SiN as a promising material system for PC devices in the visible. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.