Photonic stopbands and light transmission characteristics in GaAs-based three dimensional waveguides with large index contrast

A relatively simple technique to realize a III–V semiconductor based quasi-three-dimensional photonic crystal material with a refractive index contrast ∼2 is described. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurement reveals a stop band between 15 and 20 μm for a sample with scattering center spacing of 6.3 μm. Another narrow transmittance dip is observable in the wavelength range of 1.1–1.58 μm, with an attenuation of 12 dB at 1.18 μm. The relation between transmission T and waveguide length L, as measured by 1.15 μm wavelength light is either T−L−2 or T−exp(−L/L0), indicating photon localization in the weakly disordered system.