Hexagonal dielectric resonators and microcrystal lasers

We study long-lived resonances (lowest-loss modes) in hexagonally shaped dielectric resonators in order to gain insight into the physics of a class of microcrystal lasers. Numerical results on resonance positions and lifetimes, near-field intensity patterns, far-field emission patterns, and effects of rounding of corners are presented. Most features are explained by a semiclassical approximation based on pseudointegrable ray dynamics and boundary waves. The semiclassical model is also relevant for other microlasers of polygonal geometry.