Nanotechnologies for the fabrication of two-dimensional photonic crystals

We present an overview of the nanotechnologies necessary for the fabrication of two-dimensional photonic crystals (2DPC) by nanopatterning of epitaxially grown semiconductor heterostructures. 2D photonic crystal structures, consisting of a periodic array of holes in a planar GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure, in two different device geometries will be presented and discussed: (1) a high index contrast 2DPC slab waveguide fabricated by selective oxidation and removal of the Al-rich AlGaAs layers, and (2) a photonic crystal microcavity accomplished by a point defect in a photonic crystal lattice. In the latter case, the waveguide layer embedded two InGaAs self-organized quantum dot layers, whose spontaneous emission was strongly modified by the 2DPC microcavity.