True- and quasi-bound states in the continuum in one-dimensional gratings with broken up-down mirror symmetry

Abstract

Abstract There are many reports in the literature of bound states in the continuum (BICs) in systems with up–down mirror symmetry. Semiconductor-based technology requires bulk semiconductor substrates, which impose symmetry breaking in the vertical direction. In this paper, we explore the possibility of realizing BICs in a high refractive index subwavelength one-dimensional grating placed on a substrate with a refractive index that varies from 1 to almost the refractive index of the grating, while the refractive index above the grating is 1. We demonstrate that in gratings with broken up–down mirror symmetry not only symmetry-protected BICs can arise, but also Friedrich–Wintgen (FW) and interference-based (IB) BICs with diverging quality factors. The limit of the refractive index difference between the grating and the substrate supporting the BIC was found to be as little as 0.03. We also present a study of configurations composed of a finite number of grating stripes, with refractive indices corresponding to GaAs in the grating and Al-rich AlGaAs in the substrate. We demonstrate that such an all-semiconductor configuration enables Q-factors above 104 when composed of fewer than 20 periods and nearly exponential Q-factor growth with increasing numbers of grating periods. The results of this study pave the way for a new class of micro- and nano-optical cavities realised in standard all-semiconductor technology and relying on the high quality factor induced by BIC.