Designed semiconductor network random lasers
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Conventional lasers typically support a well-defined comb of modes. Coupling
many resonators together to form larger complex cavities enables the design
of the spatial and spectral distribution of modes, for sensitive and controllable
on-chip light sources. Network lasers, formed from a mesh of dye-doped
polymer interconnecting waveguides, have shown great potential for random
lasing with a highly sensitive and customizable lasing spectrum albeit
suffering from gain bleaching. Here on-chip semiconductor network lasers are
introduced, and fabricated by etching an InP epilayer bonded onto a SiO2∕Si
wafer, as a reproducible, stable and designable random laser with a rich
multimodal spectrum and low room temperature lasing threshold. Thresholds
are observed as low as 60 𝛍Jcm−2 pulse−1 for InP networks with an optimum
link width of 450 nm and thickness of 120 nm. It is further shown, both
experimentally and numerically, that the network density directly affects the
mode spatial distribution, and lasing modes are spatially localized over only
10–20 connected links in large dense networks. The InP network lasers are
also stable to pump illumination and sensitive to small variations in the pump
pattern. These studies lay the ground for the future design of random lasers
tailored to the application in robust semiconductor platforms with impact for
sensing, signal processing, cryptography and machine learning.
many resonators together to form larger complex cavities enables the design
of the spatial and spectral distribution of modes, for sensitive and controllable
on-chip light sources. Network lasers, formed from a mesh of dye-doped
polymer interconnecting waveguides, have shown great potential for random
lasing with a highly sensitive and customizable lasing spectrum albeit
suffering from gain bleaching. Here on-chip semiconductor network lasers are
introduced, and fabricated by etching an InP epilayer bonded onto a SiO2∕Si
wafer, as a reproducible, stable and designable random laser with a rich
multimodal spectrum and low room temperature lasing threshold. Thresholds
are observed as low as 60 𝛍Jcm−2 pulse−1 for InP networks with an optimum
link width of 450 nm and thickness of 120 nm. It is further shown, both
experimentally and numerically, that the network density directly affects the
mode spatial distribution, and lasing modes are spatially localized over only
10–20 connected links in large dense networks. The InP network lasers are
also stable to pump illumination and sensitive to small variations in the pump
pattern. These studies lay the ground for the future design of random lasers
tailored to the application in robust semiconductor platforms with impact for
sensing, signal processing, cryptography and machine learning.
Date Issued
2025-01-08
Date Acceptance
2024-07-25
Citation
Laser and Photonics Reviews, 2025, 19 (1)
ISSN
1863-8880
Publisher
Wiley-VCH Verlag
Journal / Book Title
Laser and Photonics Reviews
Volume
19
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© 2024 The Author(s). Laser & Photonics Reviews published by Wiley-VCH GmbH
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/lpor.202400623
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
2400623
Date Publish Online
2024-08-16