MICROCAVITIES IN PHOTONIC CRYSTALS - MODE SYMMETRY, TUNABILITY, AND COUPLING EFFICIENCY

We investigate the properties of resonant modes which arise from the i ntroduction of local defects in two-dimensional (2D) and 3D photonic c rystals. We show that the properties of these modes can be controlled by simply changing the nature and size of the defects. We compute the frequency, polarization, symmetry, and field distribution of the reson ant modes by solving Maxwell's equations in the frequency domain. The dynamic behavior of the modes is determined by using a finite-differen ce time-domain method which allows us to compute the coupling efficien cy and the losses in the microcavity.