Photon band gap systems from semiconductor microcavities

A brief discussion of recent work on confined photon modes in semiconductor microcavities is given with an emphasis on comparison between experimental and theoretical results for these systems. Discrete photon modes whose ene rgies increase with decreasing cavity size are observed in single lithograp hically structured semiconductor microcavities. Coupled pairs of microcavit ies show a rich pattern of modes analogous to the bonding and antibonding e lectronic states of molecules. Chains of microcavities exhibit photon band gaps out to the fourth Brillouin zone edge of the chains. Published by Else vier Science B.V.