Scanning a photonic crystal slab nanocavity by condensation of xenon

Allowing xenon or nitrogen gas to condense onto a photonic crystal slab nanocavity maintained at 10-20 K results in shifts of the nanocavity mode wavelength by as much as 5 nm (congruent to 4 meV). This occurs in spite of the fact that the mode defect is achieved by omitting three holes to form the spacer. This technique should be useful in changing the detuning between a single quantum dot transition and the nanocavity mode for cavity quantum electrodynamics experiments, such as mapping out a strong coupling anticrossing curve. Compared with temperature scanning, it has a much larger scan range and avoids phonon broadening. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.