The authors investigate the nonlinear and bistable behavior of a high-Q GaAs photonic crystal heterostructure nanocavity, side coupled to a line-defect slab waveguide. The observations agree well with a model incorporating the relevant nonlinearities. The power threshold for bistable behavior is at least one order of magnitude lower than what is reported so far.

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International audienceThe authors realized an ultrahigh quality factor nanocavity in a GaAs membrane with the highest loaded Q reported to date of 250 000 in a side-coupled cavity-waveguide system. This result could be obtained using an original aluminum-free material system combined with a carefully adjusted fabrication technology, yielding a device with small roughness and very good verticality of holes as well as small disorder. The authors show that the intrinsic Q factor is around 3.0x105 using a coupled-mode model