Demonstration of two-dimensional photonic crystals based on silicon carbide.

We demonstrate two-dimensional photonic crystals of silicon carbide (SiC)-a wide bandgap semiconductor and one of the hardest materials-at near-infrared wavelengths. Although the refractive index of SiC is lower than that of a conventional semiconductor such as GaAs or Si, we show theoretically that a wide photonic bandgap, a broadband waveguide, and a high-quality nanocavity comparable to those of previous photonic crystals can be obtained in SiC photonic crystals. We also develop a process for fabricating SiC-based photonic crystals that experimentally show a photonic bandgap of 200 nm, a waveguide with a 40-nm bandwidth, and a nanocavity with a high quality factor of 4,500. This demonstration should stimulate further development of resilient and stable photonics at high power and high temperature analogous to SiC power electronics.