High-finesse cavities fabricated by buckling self-assembly of a-Si/SiO2 multilayers.

Arrays of half-symmetric Fabry-Perot micro-cavities were fabricated by controlled formation of circular delamination buckles within a-Si/SiO(2) multilayers. Cavity height scales approximately linearly with diameter, in reasonable agreement with predictions based on elastic buckling theory. The measured finesse (F > 10(3)) and quality factors (Q > 10(4) in the 1550 nm range) are close to reflectance limited predictions, indicating that the cavities have low roughness and few defects. Degenerate Hermite-Gaussian and Laguerre-Gaussian modes were observed, suggesting a high degree of cylindrical symmetry. Given their silicon-based fabrication, these cavities hold promise as building blocks for integrated optical sensing systems.