Fabrication of InP submicron pillars for two-dimensional photonic crystalsby reactive ion etching

We have fabricated periodic arrays of InP pillars for two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystals by reactive ion etching (RIE) with SiCl4/Ar inductively c oupled plasma (ICP) and Cl-2 electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma chem istry. Prior to the fabrication of the arrays, photonic band structures for electromagnetic waves are calculated theoretically, and photonic band gaps are predicted to appear in the optical wavelength region. Periodic arrays of InP micron pillars with fairly smooch etched surfaces are fabricated by ICP-RIE with SiCl4/Ar. The reflective properties of the arrays have been ch aracterized in the optical wavelength region by Fourier-transformed infrare d reflection absorption spectrometry (FTIR-RAS). FTIR-RAS spectra of the ar rays exhibit characteristic features such as a blue shirt with decreasing p eriod of pillars. In ECR-RIE. we systematically investigate InP etch charac teristics as functions of various etching parameters, and successfully fabr icate periodic arrays of vertical submicron pillars with smooth surfaces.