InP-based two-dimensional photonic crystal on silicon: In-plane Bloch mode laser

Defectless two-dimensional photonic crystal structures have been fabricated by drilling holes in a thin multi-quantum-well InP-based heterostructure transferred onto a silicon host wafer. Extremely low group velocity modes, which correspond to the predicted photonic valence band edge, have been observed for different filling factors. Under pulsed optical pumping, room temperature laser operation around 1.5 mum has been achieved on these structures with a threshold in the milliwatt range. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.1532554].