Single layer silicon photonic crystal slab

Abstract We present here the fabrication and characterization of single layer silicon photonic crystal mirror on a silicon-on-insulator wafer. By a combination of electron beam lithography, fast atom beam etching with deep reactive ion etching, silicon photonic crystal slabs are achieved on 260 nm freestanding silicon membrane and sandwiched with air on the top and bottom. Their high refractive index contrasts enable photonic crystal slabs function as dielectric mirrors for externally incident light. The optical performances of fabricated photonic crystal slabs can be tuned by varying the width of separation grooves or the air-hole size, which represents a significant advantage of offering various approaches for optical response control.