# Multimode Lasing in Wave-Chaotic Semiconductor Microlasers

## TL;DR

This study explores multimode lasing in wave-chaotic semiconductor microcavities, demonstrating experimental and theoretical evidence that such cavities support multiple lasing modes regardless of shape, size, or refractive index.

## Contribution

It provides the first combined experimental and theoretical analysis of multimode lasing in wave-chaotic microcavities, highlighting the role of scarred modes and system size effects.

## Key findings

- Multimode lasing observed in D-shaped and stadium-shaped cavities.
- Differences in spectra decrease with increasing cavity size and surface roughness.
- Gain competition alone does not lead to single-mode lasing in these systems.

## Abstract

We investigate experimentally and theoretically the lasing behavior of dielectric microcavity lasers with chaotic ray dynamics. Experiments show multimode lasing for both D-shaped and stadium-shaped wave-chaotic cavities. Theoretical calculations also find multimode lasing for different shapes, sizes and refractive indices. While there are quantitative differences between the theoretical lasing spectra of the stadium and D-cavity, due to the presence of scarred modes with anomalously high quality factors, these differences decrease as the system size increases, and are also substantially reduced when the effects of surface roughness are taken into account. Lasing spectra calculations are based on Steady-State Ab Initio Laser Theory, and indicate that gain competition is not sufficient to result in single-mode lasing in these systems.