Photonic-Wire Laser

Abstract

We have achieved lasing in a strongly guided semiconductor waveguide with mode area as small as 0.02 $\ensuremath{\mu}$${\mathrm{m}}^{2}$ ( $\ensuremath{\lambda}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}1.4\ensuremath{\mu}$m). The lasing action takes advantage of the large enhancement of stimulated emission in the waveguide and its suppression of unwanted dipole emission. We call the waveguide a photonic wire. The laser cavity is a high- $Q$ microcavity ring resonator formed by the photonic wire and has a small cavity mode volume of 0.27 $\ensuremath{\mu}$${\mathrm{m}}^{3}$. The lasing behaviors are consistent with theory. Laser outputs can be obtained via photon tunneling to adjacent waveguides. The laser realized will allow us to study spontaneous emission and lasing in nanofabricated waveguide structures.