The emission properties of bent ZnO microwires with diameters ranging from 1.5  μm to 7.3  μm are systematically investigated by cathodoluminescence spectroscopy at T ≈ 10 K. We induced uniaxial strains along the c-axis of up to ±2.9 %. At these high strain values, we observe a nonlinear shift of the emission energy with respect to the induced strain, and the magnitude of the energy shift depends on the sign of the strain. The linear and non-linear deformation potentials were determined to be D1=−2.50±0.05 eV and D2=−15.0±0.5 eV, respectively. The nonlinearity of the energy shift is also reflected in the observed spectral broadening of the emission peak as a function of the locally induced strain, which decreases with increasing strain on the compressive side and increases on the tensile side.

We studied the doping efficiency of Al and Ga dopants in (Mg,Zn)O alloys as a function of the growth temperature and post growth annealing times. High-temperature growth results in the highest structural quality and highest electron mobility; the doping efficiency is limited by the dopant’s solubility. It was investigated in detail that a low growth temperature is needed to achieve free carrier densities above the solubility limit of the dopants. Samples grown at temperatures of 300 °C and below have a free carrier density significantly above the solubility limit yielding the minimum resistivity of ρmin=4.8×10−4  Ω cm for Mg0.05Zn0.95O: Al thin films grown on glass at 300 °C. Annealing of these samples reduces the free carrier density and the absorption edge to values similar to those of samples grown at high temperatures. The saturation of the free carrier density and the optical bandgap at their high temperature growth/annealing values is explained by the thermal creation of acceptor-like compensating defects in thermodynamic equilibrium.

Photonic crystals (PhCs) are structures periodic in thedielectric constant. They exhibit a photonic bandgap, i.e., arange of wavelengths for which light propagation is forbidden.Engineering of defects in the PhC lattice offers new ways toconfine and guide light. PhCs have been manufactured usingsemiconductors and other material technologies. This thesisfocuses on two-dimensional PhCs etched in InP-based materials.Only recently, such structures were identified as promisingcandidates for the realization of novel and advanced functionsfor optical communication applications. The primary focus was on fabrication and characterization ofPhC structures in the InP/GaInAsP/InP material system. Thedemands on fabrication are very high: holes as small as100-300nm in diameter have to be etched at least as deep as 2µm. Thus, different etch processes had to be explored andspecifically developed for InP. We have implemented an etchingprocess based on Ar/Cl2chemically assisted ion beam etching (CAIBE), thatrepresents the state of the art PhC etching in InP. Different building blocks were manufactured using thisprocess. A transmission loss of 10dB/mm for a PhC waveguide, areflection of 96.5% for a 4-row mirror and a record qualityfactor of 310 for a 1D cavity were achieved for this materialsystem. With an etch depth of 4.5 µm, optical loss wasfound to be close to the intrinsic limit. PhC-based opticalfilters were demonstrated using (a) a Fabry-Pérot cavityinserted in a PhC waveguide and (b) a contra-directionalcoupler. Lag effect in CAIBE was utilized positively to realizehigh quality PhC taper sections. Using a PhC taper, a couplingefficiency of 70% was demonstrated from a standard ridgewaveguide to a single line defect PhC waveguide. During the course of this work, InP membrane technology wasdeveloped and a Fabry-Pérot cavity with a quality factorof 3200 was demonstrated. Keywords:photonic crystals, photonic bandgap materials,indium phosphide, dry etching, chemically assisted ion beametching, reactive ion etching, electron beam lithography,photonic integrated circuits, optical waveguides, resonantcavities, optical filtering, finite difference time domain,plane wave expansion.

<p>Photonic crystals (PhCs) are structures periodic in thedielectric constant. They exhibit a photonic bandgap, i.e., arange of wavelengths for which light propagation is forbidden.Engineering of defects in the PhC lattice offers new ways toconfine and guide light. PhCs have been manufactured usingsemiconductors and other material technologies. This thesisfocuses on two-dimensional PhCs etched in InP-based materials.Only recently, such structures were identified as promisingcandidates for the realization of novel and advanced functionsfor optical communication applications.</p><p>The primary focus was on fabrication and characterization ofPhC structures in the InP/GaInAsP/InP material system. Thedemands on fabrication are very high: holes as small as100-300nm in diameter have to be etched at least as deep as 2µm. Thus, different etch processes had to be explored andspecifically developed for InP. We have implemented an etchingprocess based on Ar/Cl₂chemically assisted ion beam etching (CAIBE), thatrepresents the state of the art PhC etching in InP.</p><p>Different building blocks were manufactured using thisprocess. A transmission loss of 10dB/mm for a PhC waveguide, areflection of 96.5% for a 4-row mirror and a record qualityfactor of 310 for a 1D cavity were achieved for this materialsystem. With an etch depth of 4.5 µm, optical loss wasfound to be close to the intrinsic limit. PhC-based opticalfilters were demonstrated using (a) a Fabry-Pérot cavityinserted in a PhC waveguide and (b) a contra-directionalcoupler. Lag effect in CAIBE was utilized positively to realizehigh quality PhC taper sections. Using a PhC taper, a couplingefficiency of 70% was demonstrated from a standard ridgewaveguide to a single line defect PhC waveguide.</p><p>During the course of this work, InP membrane technology wasdeveloped and a Fabry-Pérot cavity with a quality factorof 3200 was demonstrated.</p><p><b>Keywords:</b>photonic crystals, photonic bandgap materials,indium phosphide, dry etching, chemically assisted ion beametching, reactive ion etching, electron beam lithography,photonic integrated circuits, optical waveguides, resonantcavities, optical filtering, finite difference time domain,plane wave expansion.</p>