Monolithic high-index contrast grating: a

material independent high-reflectance VCSEL

mirror
M. Gębski,1 M. Dems,1 A. Szerling,2 M. Motyka,3 L. Marona,4 R. Kruszka,2
D. Urbańczyk,2 M. Walczakowski,5 N. Pałka,5 A. Wójcik-Jedlińska,2 Q. J. Wang,6,7
D. H. Zhang,6 M. Bugajski,2 M. Wasiak,1 and T. Czyszanowski1*
1
Photonics Group, Institute of Physics, Lodz University of Technology, ul. Wolczanska 219, 90-924 Łódź, Poland
2
Institute of Electron Technology, al. Lotnikow 36/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland
3
Laboratory for Optical Spectroscopy of Nanostructures Department of Experimental Physics Wroclaw University of
Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
4
Institute of High Pressure Physics, ul. Sokolowska 29/37, 01-142 Warsaw, Poland
5
Military Academy of Science, ul. gen. Sylwestra Kaliskiego 2, 00-908 Warszawa 49, Poland
6
Photonics Center of Excellence (OPTIMUS), School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Nanyang
Technological University, 50 Nanyang Ave, 639798, Singapore
7
Center for Disruptive Photonic Technologies (CDPT), School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang
Technological University, 637371, Singapore
*
tomasz.czyszanowski@p.lodz.pl

Abstract: In this paper we present an extensive theoretical and numerical

analysis of monolithic high-index contrast grating, facilitating simple
manufacture of compact mirrors for very broad spectrum of vertical-cavity
surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) emitting from ultraviolet to mid-infrared.
We provide the theoretical background explaining the phenomenon of high
reflectance in monolithic subwavelength gratings. In addition, by using a
three-dimensional, fully vectorial optical model, verified by comparison
with the experiment, we investigate the optimal parameters of high-index
contrast grating enabling more than 99.99% reflectance in the diversity of
photonic materials and in the broad range of wavelengths.
© 2015 Optical Society of America
OCIS codes: (050.2770) Gratings; (050.6624) Subwavelength structures; (250.7260) Vertical
cavity surface emitting lasers.

References and links

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#233985 - $15.00 USD Received 4 Feb 2015; revised 26 Mar 2015; accepted 26 Mar 2015; published 24 Apr 2015
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1. Introduction
Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) have a number of unique features that
distinguish them from conventional semiconductor lasers [1] and made them widely used in
optical interconnects: low power consumption, on wafer testing, inherent single-longitudinal-
mode operation, low-divergence nonastigmatic circular output beams, suitability for
integration into two-dimensional laser arrays. However, there are still some challenges like
the need of increase of the modulation speed and down-sizing. They require new approaches
mostly in reduction of the dimensions of the distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) which
provide optical feedback in VCSELs.
High-index contrast gratings (HCGs) can be very appealing answer to this issue. Having a
thickness less than one third of the wavelength, HCGs ensure above 99.99% reflection for
surface-normal incident light [2] and additionally offer local phase and polarization control of
the light unavailable with DBRs. The physical principles of their operation can be explained
on the basis of destructive interference between two periodic waveguide modes propagating
in the grating [3] or as a Fano resonance between the modes guided in the grating and the
incident wave [4]. Basing on this understanding, in order to provide the high reflection, the
HCG layers—consisting of high refractive index stripes—must be surrounded by low index
media. Practically, such low/high index stack can be fabricated in several ways: as a HCG
freely suspended in the air [5], embedded in silicon-dioxide [6] or placed on the top of the
cladding layer of low refractive index which typically is aluminum-oxide [7] or silicon-
dioxide [8]. In each case, low refractive index layers are electrical insulators of poor thermal
conductivities. Arsenide-based HCG VCSELs can be grown in single process since low index

#233985 - $15.00 USD Received 4 Feb 2015; revised 26 Mar 2015; accepted 26 Mar 2015; published 24 Apr 2015
© 2015 OSA 4 May 2015 | Vol. 23, No. 9 | DOI:10.1364/OE.23.011674 | OPTICS EXPRESS 11675
material beneath the HCG stripes can be lattice matched aluminum-oxide layer. The
weakness of such construction is their mechanical instability in the case of thick layers of
aluminum-oxide [9]. In phosphide and nitride-based technology the lack of lattice-matched
low refractive index materials makes fabrication of integrated HCGs impossible.
To overcome those limitations the work of S. Goemanwe et al. [10] proposes alternative
approach. The authors demonstrated a monolithic grating mirror (named GIRO grating)
whose reflectance is as high as 85% for polarized 1550 nm wavelength. Based on this work a
monolithic GaN subwavelength grating was demonstrated by J. Lee et al. [11] which
reflectance is close to unity for polarized 450 nm wavelength.
In this paper we investigate monolithic high-index contrast grating (MHCG) which can be
a very attractive alternative for DBRs as well as HCGs. MHCGs bring unprecedented
simplification of the VCSELs designs and offer the freedom in the material choice, opening
new prospects for the realizations of VCSELs emitting at wavelength bands hardly achievable
in the past. In the case of phosphide-based and nitride-based VCSELs, the fabrication of
monolithically integrated DBRs is very challenging. The trade-off between high refractive
index contrast and low lattice mismatch of binary stacked structures is practically impossible.
As the consequence, DBRs consisting of 90 layers and more are required to achieve a
reflectance larger than 99.8% [12, 13]. Growth of such large number of layers is very time
consuming process which must be carefully controlled with respect to the layers thickness
and their mol fractions. Currently experimentally realized nitride- and phosphide-based
VCSELs require sophisticated technology involving implementation of dielectric mirrors [14,
15] or bonding semiconductor DBRs to the cavity [16]. For those reasons MHCGs can be
appealing solution for those VCSELs. Although arsenide-based VCSELs are significantly
more efficient compared to phosphide and nitride counterparts and their technology is mature,
there is still a room for an improvement which is particularly driven by their integration with
electronic circuits [17]. The thickness of the DBRs is more than 90% of the total thickness of
the epitaxial VCSEL structure. Replacement of both DBRs by 20-40 times thinner MHCGs
reduces the thickness of the VCSEL more than 10 times which scales down the epitaxial
growth costs and facilitates radical miniaturization of the VCSELs. Further consequence of
the VCSEL downsizing is a shortening of the light round trip which enhances the bit rate of
the operating VCSELs. The freedom in the MHCG material choice facilitates electrically
conductive mirrors and eliminates the mechanical strains in the structure. MHCG opens a
fascinating prospective of possible fabrication of very thin mirrors made of wide variety of
materials monolithically integrated with the VCSEL cavity.
In this paper we demonstrate the phenomena explaining nearly 100% reflection
mechanism of MHCG. We verify our numerical model by comparison with the experiment
and finally we perform the exhaustive numerical analysis of the geometrical parameters of
MHCG assuring very high reflectance. Our analysis is dominantly oriented on the application
of MHCG in VCSELs, which motivates the choice of four photonic materials: GaAs, InP,
GaN and Si taken under consideration as potential VCSEL mirrors. Nonetheless the final
conclusions are of much more general meaning and can be applied to MHCGs realized in
numerous possible materials. Although the presented analysis is limited to very highly
reflecting MHCGs, they offer also engineering of the light transmission and phase which can
be used in selective mirrors/transmitters [18], light steering [19] etc.
2. Monolithic grating structure
A schematic of a MHCG is shown in Fig. 1. In the theoretical and numerical analysis the
dimensions of the mirror are infinite in the x-y plane. Thickness of the substrate and the air
beneath the mirror are assumed to be infinite as well. All MHCG parameters (L – period of
the grating, h - height of the stripe, F - fill factor) will be varied to design MHCGs of high
reflectance.

#233985 - $15.00 USD Received 4 Feb 2015; revised 26 Mar 2015; accepted 26 Mar 2015; published 24 Apr 2015
© 2015 OSA 4 May 2015 | Vol. 23, No. 9 | DOI:10.1364/OE.23.011674 | OPTICS EXPRESS 11676
 Fig. 1. Schematic illustration of a MHCG with the definition of geometrical parameters: h -
height of the stripe, L – period of the grating, s - width of the stripe, a - distance between the
stripes, F - fill factor, d - thickness of the substrate. The x-axis of the coordinate system
perpendicular to the plane of the figure and parallel to the stripes. Incident light direction is
parallel to the z-axis.

The spectral dependence of the refractive indices and absorptions of the four considered
photonic materials, which will be used in the calculations are illustrated in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2. Refractive index (n) and absorption coefficient (α) as the function of the wavelength λ
of four materials: GaAs [20], InP, Si and GaN [21].

3. Numerical model and its verification

To determine reflectance of a MHCG mirror realized in the four chosen photonic materials in
broad range of geometrical MHCG parameters we applied the plane-wave reflection
transformation method [22]. We simulate a single period of a MHCG combined with periodic
boundary conditions. In the calculations from 20 up to 30 plane-waves for single MHCG
period were used to reach convergence depending on the MHCG configuration. The
assumption of infinite dimensions of MHCG (see section 2) and the plane wave reflections
may at first seem an unrealistic structure for an MHCG interacting with laser light. However,
the reflectivity of a finite size beam is very close to that assumed in the model, since the
fundamental-mode Gaussian profile (the plane-wave component perpendicular to the grating)
is dominant in both cases. In the reflectance calculations all the wave vectors are considered.
Particularly those which also have non-zero transversal components. However, the power
reflectance is calculated for the zero diffraction order only, since only this beam component
takes part in the process of stimulated emission in the VCSELs.
In order to verify the theoretical model of reflectance we fabricated MHCG directly on a 2
inch GaAs wafer, 500 μm thick. The size of the patterned area was 1 cm2. Critical dimensions
of the grating allowed us to apply standard optical lithography (contact printing with
chromium mask). On the top of the wafer the photoresist layer was span-off. Exposed
photoresist formed a stripe pattern. In the next step GaAs wafer was etched using Inductively
Coupled Plasma Reactive Ion Etching (ICP RIE) with chlorine- argon BCl3/Ar (~1.5:1)
plasma. Finally the photoresist was removed using proper solvent solutions. The parameters
of the MHCG are given in Table 1. which assure nearly 100% reflection according to the
numerical analysis presented in the section 6. The MHCG is designed for the wavelength of
4.7 μm. Although there is no VCSELs emitting the light of such wavelength the

#233985 - $15.00 USD Received 4 Feb 2015; revised 26 Mar 2015; accepted 26 Mar 2015; published 24 Apr 2015
© 2015 OSA 4 May 2015 | Vol. 23, No. 9 | DOI:10.1364/OE.23.011674 | OPTICS EXPRESS 11677
demonstration of MHCG reflectance can be performed for arbitrary wavelengths since
Maxwell's equations can be linearly scaled. MCHG requires less fabrication effort at longer
wavelengths however light detection becomes more challenging. Hence the wavelength of 4.7
μm is consensual in our case.
Table 1. Parameters of MHCG providing the reflectance R = 1-10−7. The parameters in
brackets correspond to the absolute values of h and L for the wavelength of 4.7 μm.
h/λ (h) L/λ (L) F
0.18 (0.85 μm) 0.86 (4.02 μm) 0.36

In the experiment we achieved the MHCG parameters deviated from the assumed ones: h
= 1.1 μm, L = 4.0 μm, F = 0.48 for which the calculated reflectance is on the level of 80%.
Roughness of the stripes and fluctuations of the period contributes to further reduction of the
reflectance, however shift of the reflectance spectrum is expected to be negligible [23]. Hence
verification of the numerical model with experiment is expected to rely on a qualitative
comparison. Figure 3(a) shows a scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of a fabricated
stand-alone MHCG mirror.

Fig. 3. a) SEM picture of the fabricated GaAs MHCG and b) schematic of the beam path in
FTIR used to measurements of the reflectance spectrum.

We used Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer (Vertex 80 from Bruker) to

measure the reflectance of the grating. The sample was illuminated by the polarized probing
beam from the globar. The electric field of the electromagnetic field was polarized parallel to
MHCG stripes. The beam was collimated by parabolic mirror and directed under the angle of
12° with respect to normal direction of MHCG [Fig. 3(b)], which is the smallest angle
achievable in used spectrometer. Such deviation from the normal direction reduces the
reflectance of the mirror which according to the calculations is expected to be on the level of
60%. Figure 4 illustrates the comparison of the experimental and the calculated spectra. In the
calculations we assume the incident beam propagating through air/GaAs interface and
through GaAs only. To take into account additional reflection from the Air/GaAs interface we
assumed that coherence length of the light emitted by the globar is shorter than the doubled
sample’s thickness (500 μm). In such a case there are no Fabry-Perot oscillations in the
calculated spectrum. In the measured spectrum Fabry-Perot oscillations are visible, however
their amplitude is small especially in the wavelength region of the interest below 6 μm.
Additionally, fabrication imperfections of the MHCG, particularly: deviation of the period
over the sample and roughness of the side walls reduce the measured reflectance. However
qualitative comparison concerning the appearance of the maxima in the reflectance spectrum
proves that our model reflects correctly optical phenomena taking part in MHCG. In the deep
subwavelength regime (long wavelengths) MHCG behaves as quasi-uniform layer hence
experimental and calculated spectra reach close value of the reflectance. The dashed line in
Fig. 4 illustrates the reflectance of the beam which propagates through GaAs only, which
closely relates to the light propagating in VCSEL with one MHCG mirror. In the experiment
the MHCG imperfections can be reduced using electron beam lithography (EBL) in the

#233985 - $15.00 USD Received 4 Feb 2015; revised 26 Mar 2015; accepted 26 Mar 2015; published 24 Apr 2015
© 2015 OSA 4 May 2015 | Vol. 23, No. 9 | DOI:10.1364/OE.23.011674 | OPTICS EXPRESS 11678
preparation of the mask. The above comparison of experimental characterization and
calculations serves to confirm the validity of the numerical model which is used to investigate
the designs of monolithic subwavelength grating.

0.6

R
0.4 h = 0.8μm
h = 0.9μm
h = 1.0μm
h = 1.1μm
0.2 h = 1.1μm (GaAs)
Experiment
2 4 6 8
λ [μm]

Fig. 4. Experimental (red line) and theoretical (other lines) reflectivity spectra of monolithic
grating for light polarized parallel to the grating lines. Both the experimental and theoretical
results are determined for an incident angle of 12 degree as limited by the experimental setup.
The theoretical lines are calculated for different etching depths (h), the dashed line represents
the reflectance spectrum in the case of light propagating in GaAs only, while solid lines in the
case of additional reflectance at the interface between Air and GaAs.

4. Principle of operation
We consider a plane-wave which is perpendicularly incident from the bottom side of the
grating (Fig. 1) with the free-space wavelength not much longer than the grating period (near-
subwavelength regime). In the uniform high-index region (R1) this wave is accompanied by
the propagating and evanescent reflected waves of different orders. Depending on the grating
period and the layer refractive index, there are two or three reflected propagating diffraction
orders and the infinite number of evanescent waves. The second layer (R2)—the grating
itself—supports exactly two forward- and backward-propagating modes in the near-
subwavelength regime [3]. Finally, in the top air layer (R3) one transmitted propagating mode
can exist only, however, it is accompanied by the infinite number of evanescent modes as in
the first layer.
The modes are mutually orthogonal in all three layers, however they may couple to each
other at the layer boundaries. Hence, the single 0-th order incident wave can excite reflected
and transmitted modes of all orders: both evanescent and propagating. The evanescent modes
play important role in this coupling as they are necessary to ensure fulfillment of
electromagnetic boundary conditions at grating edges (one may consider them as Fourier
basis in which the grating modes are expanded). However, only the propagating modes are
the ones transferring the energy. Hence, it is sufficient to suppress the zero-order transferred
mode in R3 by the means of negative interference to obtain 100% reflectance.
In case of conventional index-confined grating the reflected wave has only zero-order
propagating mode, so naturally 100% of the energy is reflected into this mode. In case of the
monolithic HCG there are more than one reflected propagating mode. However, in the
presented case all modes except the zero-order one vanish at the wavelength corresponding to
100% reflectance. Figure 5 illustrates that despite the fact that the 100% reflectivity peak
wavelength is shorter than second-order mode cut-off, at this particular wavelength all modes
except the zero-order one have reflectance of 0% for carefully chosen parameters of MHCG.
Consider a non-monolithic grating that has a cladding layer (region R1 in Fig. 1) with
refractive index nB different from the refractive index of the stripes (region R2). Depending on
this cladding refractive index, the cut-off wavelength of the first-order reflected mode is

#233985 - $15.00 USD Received 4 Feb 2015; revised 26 Mar 2015; accepted 26 Mar 2015; published 24 Apr 2015
© 2015 OSA 4 May 2015 | Vol. 23, No. 9 | DOI:10.1364/OE.23.011674 | OPTICS EXPRESS 11679
changing: the higher its value (nB), the longer the wavelengths (λ) up to which the first order
mode is a propagating one. For the wavelengths longer than the cut-off, we have a situation of

Fig. 5. Total grating reflectance (black line) and reflectance of four lowest diffraction orders
for the grating shown in Fig. 1 of refractive index 3.52 for (a) TE (L = 817 nm, h = 164 nm, F
= 0.35) and (b) TM (L = 497 nm, h = 302 nm, F = 0.50) polarizations. Dashed lines present
cut-offs of the consecutive reflected diffraction orders (i.e. the mode is a propagating for the
shorter and evanescent for the longer wavelengths).

1.0 f f
ut-o

th
0 mode
c

transfers the energy

0.9
ode
1 st m
λ [μm]

total reflectance peaks

0.8
th st
0 + 1 mode
transfer the energy
0.7
1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
nB

Fig. 6. Positions of two 100% reflectance TM peaks (red and blue curves) for the reflecting
high-contrast gratings as a function of the cladding refractive index nB with other parameters
identical to ones shown in Fig. 5(b). The black line shows the cut-off of the first-order mode
i.e. the wavelengths above which only the fundamental reflected mode can transfer energy.

a confined grating, where only zero-order reflected mode can transfer the energy. At this
regime 100% reflectivity peaks can appear as already well theoretically explained [3].
Figure 6 shows the wavelengths of two such peaks for TM polarization as a function of nB.
These two peaks show qualitatively different behaviors: the lower-wavelength one (red line)
exists only above the cut-off (black line) and its wavelength strongly depends on the value of
nB. Most of the hitherto reported high-reflectivity peaks [3,5]—both broadband and narrow-
band—are of this nature. However, the long-wavelength peak (blue line) behaves differently:
it is nearly independent on nB and this mere fact is the clue to MHCG's nearly 100%
reflection. Below the cut-off, the cancelation of the transmitted zero-order mode ensures that
all the energy is back-reflected into zero-order reflected mode (nearly 100% reflection), as no
other mode can transfer reflected energy. In other words, the reflection coefficient for the
zero-order mode is 1. In case this coefficient is nearly independent on nB in both its value and
wavelength (which can be observed in Fig. 6), the higher-order reflected modes—even when
they become physically possible—cannot transfer any energy due to the total energy
conservation. Hence, by increasing the nB up to the value of the grating refractive index (so
there is no index contrast between the cladding and the grating bars), we can convert the
100% reflective confined HCG into a 100% reflective MHCG.

#233985 - $15.00 USD Received 4 Feb 2015; revised 26 Mar 2015; accepted 26 Mar 2015; published 24 Apr 2015
© 2015 OSA 4 May 2015 | Vol. 23, No. 9 | DOI:10.1364/OE.23.011674 | OPTICS EXPRESS 11680
 For TE polarization one can find similar mode independent on the cladding refractive
index, although for different grating parameters. However, the physics of such mode is
exactly the same as described above, hence, it is possible to make an MHCG operating on TE
mode as well. Particular examples of such modes are presented in section 5.
5. Numerical analysis of monolithic grating properties
In order to find optimal MHCG parameters, we have investigated its properties varying height
of the stripes (h), their period (L), fill factor (F), and assuming four different refractive indices
of MHCG, which correspond to the refractive indices of GaAs at 980 nm (n = 3.53), Si at
1300 nm (n = 3.5), InP at 1550 nm (n = 3.16), and GaN at 420 nm (n = 2.49). We have

Fig. 7. The maps of MHCG reflectance (R) based on Si, GaAs, InP and GaN for various
wavelengths (λ) and corresponding refractive indices (n). The maps are shown in the domain
of wavelength and etching depth normalized to the grating period (λ/L and h/L respectively)
for different fill factors (F) for a) TE and b) TM polarizations. The color bars determine the
reflectance. Periodic behavior of the reflectance with h for TE and TM configurations relates
to Fabry-Perrot resonance taking place in the grating which is exhaustively described in [3].

computed MHCGs reflectivities for both TE (electric field parallel to stripes) and TM
(electric field perpendicular to stripes) polarizations of the perpendicularly incident wave. The

#233985 - $15.00 USD Received 4 Feb 2015; revised 26 Mar 2015; accepted 26 Mar 2015; published 24 Apr 2015
© 2015 OSA 4 May 2015 | Vol. 23, No. 9 | DOI:10.1364/OE.23.011674 | OPTICS EXPRESS 11681
results, presented in Fig. 7, allow to identify several regions of high reflectance (RHRs) that
we define by total reflectance greater than 99%, which is of great importance for VCSEL
applications.
As known from the section 4, the regions of high reflectance appear only for the MHCG
periods (L) shorter than the wavelength. In particular, the RHRs for TE polarization
[Fig. 7(a)] are localized within the range 1.0L < λ < 1.5L and for TM polarization [Fig. 7(b)]
they can extend up to wavelength of 2.5L. However, if refractive index decreases, the long-
wavelength limit of RHRs gets reduced to 1.0L for both polarizations. Different behavior can
be observed when analyzing reflectance dependence on the etching depth (h): RHRs are
forming periodic (dark red) islands in the reflectance maps. Their close inspection reveals that
the largest reflectance of the MHCG is usually found within the RHR island for the most
shallow etching depths and the size of the RHR island reduces while refractive index
decreases. The parameter that has the lowest impact on the reflectance is the fill-factor (F).
For high-index materials there are high-reflectivity regions in a wide range of fill-factors,

Fig. 8. MHCG reflectance (R) in the domain of the period (L) of the stripes and fill factor (F)
a) and as the function of the stripes height (h). The parameters (L, F, and h) not shown in
respective graphs are set to their optimal values (i.e. the ones assuring maximum reflectance).

however decreasing the refractive index results in more strict constraint on this parameter:
large RHRs are present only in the proximity of F = 0.5.

#233985 - $15.00 USD Received 4 Feb 2015; revised 26 Mar 2015; accepted 26 Mar 2015; published 24 Apr 2015
© 2015 OSA 4 May 2015 | Vol. 23, No. 9 | DOI:10.1364/OE.23.011674 | OPTICS EXPRESS 11682
 To analyze high reflectance of MHCG more precisely we have performed an exhaustive
multidimensional optimization of the geometrical parameters of MHCG (varying F, L, and h)
for both TE and TM polarizations in order to determine the maximum possible grating
reflectance (i.e. the maximum reflectance was the criterion of optimal MHCG parameters
choice). Figure 8 shows the results. It illustrates the dependence of the TE and the TM
reflectances on MHCG period (L), fill factor (F) and etching depth (h) at given wavelengths
for four abovementioned materials (GaAs, Si, InP, and GaN). The maps of the TE reflectance
as the function of L and F show relatively broad range of MHCG parameters for which the
reflectance is larger than 99%. In case of GaAs, such high reflectance can be maintained with
the following deviations from optimal parameters: ΔF = 0.14, ΔL/L = 0.10, and Δh/h = 0.09.
To achieve the reflectance larger than 95% the constrains in MHCG fabrication precision are
less strict and the following deviations from optimal values are acceptable: ΔF = 0.44, ΔL/L =
0.25, Δh/h = 0.18. The analogous tolerances in the case of GaN, which is the material of the
smallest refractive index considered here, are ΔF = 0.14, ΔL/L = 0.06, Δh/h = 0.09 for 99%
reflectance and ΔF = 0.44, ΔL/L = 0.12, Δh/h = 0.18 for 95% reflectance. Hence, we can see
that the required relative precision of the MHCG period (ΔL/L) gets stricter with the decrease
of the refractive index, however the necessary precisions of the fill factor (ΔF) and the
etching depth (Δh/h) are independent on the refractive index. A careful analysis of Fig. 7
reveals that there is a trade-off between the large error tolerance and the high reflectance. The
RHR containing the maximum of the reflectance is not necessarily the same RHR that can
tolerate larger manufacturing errors. From the practical point of view the etching depths (h)
are of great importance. In this view TE configuration, which is nearly twice shallower than
TM configuration, is expected to be more feasible in realization.
The optimized MHCGs, assuring maximal reflectance, show similar electromagnetic field
profiles in all material systems (Fig. 9). In the TE configuration, the light is confined
dominantly within the top part of the stripes and there is exactly one light intensity lobe per
stripe. In the TM configuration the highest light intensity appears in the air between the
stripes as rapidly oscillating function of the position. The only exception is the GaN MHCG,
which has the lowest reflectivity of all the analyzed cases (Fig. 8) and Fig. 9 shows the
explanation of this fact: there is a very strong light leakage out from the GaN stripes.

Fig. 9. Distribution of the intensity of the light in TE and TM configurations of MHCGs

realized in Si, GaAs, InP and GaN. The geometry of the structures and incident light direction
are illustrated in Fig. 1.

Such light distributions in the TE and TM configurations intuitively suggest similarities to

waveguiding and anti-waveguiding mechanisms observed in laser arrays [24]. In those
devices the waveguiding focuses the light within the regions of high refractive index by
means of total internal reflection. Anti-waveguiding mechanism, relying on resonant
reflections, confines the light within the region of lower refractive index. The weakening of

#233985 - $15.00 USD Received 4 Feb 2015; revised 26 Mar 2015; accepted 26 Mar 2015; published 24 Apr 2015
© 2015 OSA 4 May 2015 | Vol. 23, No. 9 | DOI:10.1364/OE.23.011674 | OPTICS EXPRESS 11683
waveguiding phenomenon caused by the reduction of the refractive index contrast manifests
in equalization of the mode amplitudes in the periodic regions of lower and higher refractive
indices. Weakening of anti-waveguiding mechanism results in leakage of strongly oscillating
waves to the region of higher refractive index. Adequate similarities to waveguiding and anti-
waveguiding mechanisms can be observed in the TE and TM configurations of MHCG,
respectively. In both cases the highest field intensities are located in the stripes layer: the
maximal intensity in this layer is 4 times larger than the light intensity in the bulk material
below the mirror in TE configuration and nearly 10 times larger in the TM configuration.
Additionally the peak of the light intensity is located at the edges of the stripes in TM
configuration. Such light distribution in TM configuration may cause susceptibility of the
grating reflectance to the stripe imperfections and the surface absorption, which favors TE
configuration as practical realization of MHCG.
We have also performed the spectral analysis of the maximum grating reflectance. By
means of multidimensional optimization we have determined the MHCG parameters (L, F, h)
providing the maximal reflectance for given wavelengths (λ) and calculated the spectral band
(Δλ) in which the reflectance is greater than 99%.
Figure 10 illustrates the normalized spectral RHR (Δλ/λ) as the function of the wavelength
for considered photonic materials (Si, GaAs, InP and GaN). We have assumed the material
dispersion and absorption as it is shown in Fig. 2. Comparing Fig. 2(b) with Fig. 10(a) (which
corresponds to the TE configuration) one can conclude that the main factor assuring Δλ/λ > 0,
for a particular refractive index, is the material absorption. The inter-band absorption limits
high reflectance for short wavelengths and subband absorption do the same for long
wavelengths. Consequently, the very high reflectance can be achieved only in the following
bands: λ > 980 nm for GaAs and InP, λ > 1000 nm for Si, and 400 nm < λ < 5 μm for GaN.
The subband absorption deteriorates the reflectance of GaAs and InP for λ < 2 μm and λ < 5
μm, respectively, however, it does not drops below 99%. In the wavelength bands free of the
absorption, Δλ/λ depends mostly on the value of the refractive index and reaches: 0.066 for
Si, 0.064 for GaAs, 0.061 for InP, and 0.04 for GaN. These spectral ranges are significantly
smaller than the ones of previously reported HCGs, however, they are comparable to spectral
high reflectivity ranges of DBRs (Table 2).

Fig. 10. Normalized spectral RHR (Δλ/λ) of TE a) and TM b) polarizations as the function of
the wavelength for considered four photonic materials and TE configuration. The reflectance
of TM configuration of GaN MHCG is lower than 99% hence it is not shown in b).

Two and threefold broader spectral RHR (Δλ/λ) of conventional HCGs with respect to
MHCG is achieved due to proper choice of HCG parameters assuring two spectrally
overlapping Fano resonances [6]. In MHCG only single Fano resonance exists, however
spectral RHR of MHCG is comparable to spectral RHR of typical arsenide-based DBR which
proves the functionality of monolithic subwavelength grating.
Figure 10(b) illustrates normalized spectral RHR as the function of the refractive index for
TM configuration of MHCG. Δλ/λ is 30% lower in the maximum and of narrower spectral
band with respect to the TE configuration. GaN MHCG do not reach 99% level of the
reflectance in the first RHR island [see Fig. 7(b)] and it is not considered here, since

#233985 - $15.00 USD Received 4 Feb 2015; revised 26 Mar 2015; accepted 26 Mar 2015; published 24 Apr 2015
© 2015 OSA 4 May 2015 | Vol. 23, No. 9 | DOI:10.1364/OE.23.011674 | OPTICS EXPRESS 11684
necessary aspect ratio a/h is far from feasibility in the present stage of etching technology.
GaAs and InP MHCGs reveal strong susceptibility to the absorption and reduce rapidly with
increasing absorption.
Table 2. Normalized spectral RHR (Δλ/λ) for four analyzed MHCGs, compared to
different realizations of HCGs reported previously and a standard arsenide based DBR
Structure Δλ/λ
Si MHCG 0.066
GaAs MHCG 0.064
InP MHCG 0.061
GaN MHCG 0.04
Al0.6Ga0.4As/Air HCG [5] 0.23
Si/SiO2 HCG [8] 0.22
GaAs/AlOx HCG [7] 0.16
SiO2/Si/SiO2 HCG [6] 0.16
GaAs/Al0.98Ga0.02As DBR 28 pairs 0.07

The geometrical parameters of the TE configuration of MHCGs providing maximal

reflectance are collected in Fig. 11. The increase of the incident wavelength contributes to the
decrease of the refractive indices of all photonic materials considered here [Fig. 2(a)]. Since
the optical field is mostly confined in the stripes of the MHCG the optimal MHCG
parameters depends on the dispersion of photonic materials. The decrease of the refractive
indices imposes the increase of the normalized dimensions of the construction parameters
(L/λ, h/λ) and contributes to the increase of the fill factor (F).

Fig. 11. Normalized period (L/λ) a), fill factor (F) b) and normalized etching depth (h/λ) c) of
optimal MHCG in TE configuration as the function of the wavelength.

Finally, Fig. 12 illustrates the dependence of the maximal TE reflectance as the function
of the refractive index, neglecting the absorption of the particular materials. It can be seen
that nearly 100% reflection can occur for all the refractive indices larger than 1.75, which
opens the possibility to fabricate the MHCG with most of the materials used in the modern
photonics. Normalized spectral RHR reaches its maximum (Δλ/λ = 0.0667) for the refractive
index n = 3.45 which corresponds to the refractive index of GaAs at λ = 1.15 μm.

1.0
GaN
0.06
AlN
Diamond AlAs GaAs
0.9
InP
SiC Si 0.04
Δλ/λ
R

0.8 ZnO
TiO2

Saphire ZnS
0.7 ZnSe
0.02

1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5

n

Fig. 12. Maximal reflectance (R) - red curve and normalized spectral RHR (Δλ/λ) – blue curve
as the function of the refractive index. The arrows assign the ranges of the refractive indices of
particular photonic materials.

#233985 - $15.00 USD Received 4 Feb 2015; revised 26 Mar 2015; accepted 26 Mar 2015; published 24 Apr 2015
© 2015 OSA 4 May 2015 | Vol. 23, No. 9 | DOI:10.1364/OE.23.011674 | OPTICS EXPRESS 11685
6. Conclusions
In this paper we have presented the results of an extensive theoretical, numerical and
experimental analysis of the monolithic high-refractive-index contrast grating (MHCG).
Theoretical analysis revealed the possibility of nearly 100% reflection in the monolithic HCG
configuration which relied on elimination of all higher diffraction orders except the 0th-order
one. To numerically investigate the MHCGs we have applied three dimensional, fully
vectorial, plane-wave reflection transformation method, which was validated by the
comparison with experimental results obtained for a GaAs-based MHCG designed for 4.7 μm
wavelength. Good agreement between experiment and numerical model confirmed adequacy
of the method to the analysis of MHCG. Based on the numerical analysis we have proved that
MHCGs realized in GaAs, Si, InP and GaN can provide reflectances larger than 99% in broad
range of the wavelengths. In the case of considered photonic materials the absorption was the
only factor limiting the spectrum of the very high reflectance. TE configuration of the MHCG
assured high reflectance in broader spectral band we have concluded that the fabrication of
TE MHCG configuration can be better controlled with respect to TM configuration.
Our analysis showed that MHCG is an appealing candidate to replace distributed Bragg
reflectors (DBRs) in VCSELs. MHCG can be scaled with the wavelength and fabricated in
the vast variety of the photonic materials of refractive index larger than 1.75 without the need
of the combination of low and high refractive index materials. The freedom of use of various
materials allows to provide more efficient current injection and better heat flow through the
mirror, in contrary to the conventional HCGs. It has a great application potential in passive
and active optoelectronic devices, but mostly it has great prospects in application to
monolithically integrated phosphide and nitride-based VCSELs that lack monolithically
integrated materials of high refractive index contrast. MHCG can simplify the construction of
VCSELs, reducing their epitaxial design to monolithic wafer with carrier confinement and
active region inside and etched stripes on both surfaces in post processing.
In future perspective, MHCGs can produce three dimensional confinement [25] by lateral
Bragg reflections [26] which makes MHCG vertical-cavity lasers interesting candidates as
micro-cavities as single photon source [27].
Acknowledgments
This work is jointly supported by the Polish National Centre of Research and Development
and by Singapore A*STAR (grant no. 122 070 3063, ‘A Novel Photonic Crystal Surface
Emitting Laser Incorporating a High-Index-Contrast Grating’). It is also partially supported
by grants funded by Ministry of Education, Singapore. (MOE2011-T2-2-147). M. Gebski
acknowledges the support by the Polish National Science Centre within the project
PRELUDIUM 2013/11/N/ST7/02826. A. Szerling acknowledges the support of the Polish
National Center for Research and Development within the project LIDER/34/70/L-
3/11/NCBR/2012. M. Motyka acknowledges the support by the Polish National Science
Centre within the project DEC-2011/03/D/ST3/02640.

#233985 - $15.00 USD Received 4 Feb 2015; revised 26 Mar 2015; accepted 26 Mar 2015; published 24 Apr 2015
© 2015 OSA 4 May 2015 | Vol. 23, No. 9 | DOI:10.1364/OE.23.011674 | OPTICS EXPRESS 11686