The influence of material absorption on the quality factor of photonic crystal cavities

Accounting for material absorption is very important for developing high quality factor (Q) photonic crystal cavities. However, to our knowledge, there have been very few systematic experimental investigations of its role in such cavities. In this paper, we present detailed experiments to reveal the relationship between Q, material absorption coefficient and field pattern. Modes with different field patterns and materials with different absorption coefficients were tested. We have developed a simple formula to describe the relationship, which can be used to replace time-consuming numerical calculations. The experimental and numerical data agree well with this formula.