Tuning the shape of semiconductor microstadium laser

TL;DR

This paper experimentally investigates how the shape of GaAs microstadium lasers influences their lasing behavior, revealing non-monotonic threshold variation and enabling shape tuning to optimize laser performance.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed experimental analysis of shape-dependent lasing thresholds and mode control in GaAs microstadium lasers, demonstrating shape tuning as a method to optimize lasing.

Findings

Lasing threshold varies non-monotonically with stadium shape.

First lasing mode is a high-quality scar mode.

Shape tuning can minimize lasing threshold.

Abstract

We presented a detailed experimental study on lasing in GaAs microstadium with various shapes. Unlike most deformed microcavities, the lasing threshold varies non-monotonically with the major-to-minor-axis ratio of the stadium. Under spatially uniform optical pumping, the first lasing mode corresponds to a high-quality scar mode consisting of several unstable periodic orbits. By tuning the shape of GaAs stadium, we are able to minimize the lasing threshold. This work demonstrates the possibility of controlling chaotic microcavity laser.