The smallest possible whispering-gallery-like mode in the square lattice photonic-crystal slab single-defect cavity

The smallest possible whispering-gallery-like mode (WGM) formed in a free-standing square-lattice photonic-crystal slab single-defect cavity is studied by using the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method. The WGM is nondegenerate and the only existing resonant mode in the transverse electric mode bandgap of the square lattice. High-quality factors are achieved from this mode by suppressing both the in-plane and the out-of-plane optical losses. By optimizing the structural parameters, a total quality factor of 18 000 and a vertical quality factor of 40 000 are obtained from the WGM. The quality factor does not decrease significantly in the presence of a current flow path at the center of the cavity due to the of electromagnetic energy at the cavity center, which means this mode is advantageous to achieve electrically pumped photonic-crystal lasers. In addition, by combining the high-quality factor with wavelength-size small-mode volume, very high Purcell factors >8000 are achieved, the largest value ever reported. The WGM of the square-lattice single-defect cavity is promising for both cavity quantum electrodynamics research and the low-threshold microcavity laser.