Large area photonic crystal cavities: a local density approach

Area of Science:

• Computational physics
• Materials science
• Optoelectronics

Background:

• Large area photonic crystal cavities are crucial for photovoltaics, optoelectronics, and solid-state lighting.
• Simulating these devices is computationally intensive due to their dimensions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a computationally efficient method for analyzing large area photonic crystal cavities.
• To accurately model electromagnetic field modes in both ideal and distorted photonic crystals.

Main Methods:

• Employed a local density approach to circumvent direct device simulation.
• Captured photonic crystal effects using an effective mass and effective potential.
• Mapped the electromagnetic mode calculation to solving a time-independent Schrödinger equation.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated that photonic crystal eigenmodes can be accurately described by solving a simplified Schrödinger equation.
• Achieved typical agreement exceeding 90% when the hole radius varies quadratically with position.
• The method effectively models both ideal and distorted photonic crystals.

Conclusions:

• The local density approach offers a significant reduction in computational cost for photonic crystal cavity analysis.
• This method provides a robust and accurate way to determine electromagnetic field modes, crucial for device design.
• The findings pave the way for more efficient design and optimization of photonic crystal-based devices.