Investigations of Bragg reflectors in nanowire lasers

The reflectivity of various Bragg reflectors in connection to waveguide structures, including nanowires, has been investigated using modal reflection and transmission matrices. A semi-analytical model was applied yielding increased understanding of the diffraction effects present in such gratings. Planar waveguides and nanowire lasers are considered in particular. Two geometries are compared; Bragg reflectors within the waveguides are shown to have significant advantages compared to Bragg reflectors in the substrate, when diffraction effects are significant.