Surface lattice resonance lasers with epitaxial InP gain medium

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a photo-stable, tunable surface lattice resonance laser using an epitaxial InP gain medium with low threshold, suitable for integrated photonic applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel epitaxial InP-based SLR laser with low threshold and tunable emission, overcoming photo-degradation issues of previous materials.

Findings

Achieved lasing threshold as low as 90 μJ/cm²

Enabled 70 nm spectral tuning range

Demonstrated potential for on-chip integrated lasers

Abstract

Surface lattice resonance (SLR) lasers, where gain is supplied by a thin film active material and the feedback comes from multiple scattering by plasmonic nanoparticles, have shown both low threshold lasing and tunability of the angular and spectral emission. However, typically used materials such as organic dyes and QD films suffer from photo-degradation which hampers practical applications. Here, we demonstrate photo-stable single-mode lasing of SLR modes sustained in an epitaxial solid-state InP slab waveguide. The nanoparticle array is weakly coupled to the optical modes, which decreases the scattering losses and hence the experimental lasing threshold is as low as 90 $\mu$J/cm$^{2}$. The nanoparticle periodicity defines the lasing wavelength and enables tuneable emission wavelengths over a 70 nm spectral range. Combining plasmonic nanoparticles with an epitaxial solid-state gain medium paves the way for large-area on-chip integrated SLR lasers for applications including optical communication, optical computing, sensing, and LiDAR.