Room-temperature continuous-wave Dirac-vortex topological lasers on silicon

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the first room-temperature continuous-wave Dirac-vortex topological lasers integrated on silicon, exhibiting topological robustness and stable single-mode emission at telecom wavelengths, advancing integrated photonics.

Contribution

It reports the experimental realization of Dirac-vortex topological lasers on silicon, showcasing topological robustness and novel spectral properties not seen in conventional lasers.

Findings

Room-temperature continuous-wave operation achieved.

Laser wavelength is topologically robust against cavity variations.

Free spectral range defies universal inverse scaling law.

Abstract

Robust laser sources are a fundamental building block for contemporary information technologies. Originating from condensed-matter physics, the concept of topology has recently entered the realm of optics, offering fundamentally new design principles for lasers with enhanced robustness. In analogy to the well-known Majorana fermions in topological superconductors, Dirac-vortex states have recently been investigated in passive photonic systems and are now considered as a promising candidate for single-mode large-area lasers. Here, we experimentally realize the first Dirac-vortex topological lasers in InAs/InGaAs quantum-dot materials monolithically grown on a silicon substrate. We observe room-temperature continuous-wave single-mode linearly polarized vertical laser emission at a telecom wavelength. Most importantly, we confirm that the wavelength of the Dirac-vortex laser is topologically robust against variations in the cavity size, and its free spectral range defies the universal inverse scaling law with the cavity size. These lasers will play an important role in CMOS-compatible photonic and optoelectronic systems on a chip.