Search

A wavelength-scale cavity is generated by printing a carbonaceous nano-block on a photonic-crystal waveguide. The nanometer-size carbonaceous block is grown at a pre-determined region by the electron-beam-induced deposition method. The wavelength-scale photonic-crystal cavity operates as a single mode laser, near 1550 nm with threshold of approximately 100 microW at room temperature. Finite-difference time-domain computations show that a high-quality-factor cavity mode is defined around the nano-block with resonant wavelength slightly longer than the dispersion-edge of the photonic-crystal waveguide. Measured near-field images exhibit photon distribution well-localized in the proximity of the printed nano-block. Linearly-polarized emission along the vertical direction is also observed.

High quality factor and small mode volume in nanocavities enable the demonstration of efficient nanophotonic devices with low power consumption, strong nonlinearity, and high modulation speed, due to the strong light–matter interaction. In this review, we focus on recent state-of-the-art nanocavities and their applications. We introduce single nanocavities including semiconductor nanowires, plasmonic cavities, and nanostructures based on quasi-bound states in the continuum (quasi-BIC), for laser, photovoltaic, and nonlinear applications. In addition, nanocavity arrays with unique feedback mechanisms, including BIC cavities, parity-time symmetry coupled cavities, and photonic topological cavities, are introduced for laser applications. These various cavity designs and underlying physics in single and array nanocavities are useful for the practical implementation of promising nanophotonic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We propose and experimentally investigate a self-aligned metallic nanocavity that can enhance second harmonic signals from a single KNbO3 nanowire. With pump beams in the spectral proximity of the metallic nanocavity resonance, second harmonic intensity is observed to be >1800 times stronger than that of a typical bare nanowire under the same illumination conditions. By studying spectral features and polarization characteristics, we confirm that the nonlinear enhancement originates from the locally intensified electric field of a surface plasmon-polariton mode. This simple and robust scheme represents a powerful platform to study single nanowire nonlinearity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]