Quantum-dot microlasers based on whispering gallery mode resonators

Abstract

The subject of this paper is microlasers with the emission spectra determined by the whispering gallery modes. Owing to the total internal reflection of light on the sidewalls, a high Q-factor is achieved until the diameter is comparable to the wavelength. The light emission predominantly occurs in the plane of the structure, which facilitates the microlaser integration with other elements. We focus on microdisk lasers with various types of the In(Ga)As quantum dots (QDs). Deep localization of charge carriers in spatially separated regions suppresses the lateral diffusion and makes it possible to overcome the undesirable effect of non-radiative recombination in deep mesas. Thus, using conventional epitaxial structures and relatively simple post-growth processing methods, it is possible to realize small microlasers capable of operating without temperature stabilization at elevated temperatures. The low sensitivity of QDs to epitaxial and manufacturing defects allows fabricating microlasers using III–V heterostructures grown on silicon.

Ultralow‐Threshold and High‐Quality Whispering‐Gallery‐Mode Lasing from Colloidal Core/Hybrid‐Shell Quantum Wells

“…Miniaturized lasers have attracted much attention in the fields of nanoscale optical integration, [1][2][3] coherent sensing, [4][5][6] and optical information processing. [7][8][9] As such, a broad range of solution-processable materials, such as organic dye molecules and colloidal semiconductor nanostructures, with low-cost production and easy incorporation into various cavities, have been the core gain media of intense research for lasing demonstration at or close to room temperature. [1,3,4,6,[8][9][10][11][12][13] Among all these solution-processable gain materials, 2D colloidal nano platelets (NPLs) with pure quantum confinement from the vertical direction, [14,15] also referred to as semiconductor quantum wells, have become the most promising alternative owing to the suppressed nonradiative Auger recombination (AR) rates relative to their 0D quantum dots and 1D nanorods counterparts and their long-term stable lasing performance compared to traditional organic dyes which suffer from…”

“…[ 7–9 ] As such, a broad range of solution‐processable materials, such as organic dye molecules and colloidal semiconductor nanostructures, with low‐cost production and easy incorporation into various cavities, have been the core gain media of intense research for lasing demonstration at or close to room temperature. [ 1,3,4,6,8–13 ] Among all these solution‐processable gain materials, 2D colloidal nanoplatelets (NPLs) with pure quantum confinement from the vertical direction, [ 14,15 ] also referred to as semiconductor quantum wells, have become the most promising alternative owing to the suppressed nonradiative Auger recombination (AR) rates relative to their 0D quantum dots and 1D nanorods counterparts and their long‐term stable lasing performance compared to traditional organic dyes which suffer from severe irreversible photobleaching. [ 12,16 ] In addition, thanks to the persistent efforts made by researchers, various approaches including thickness tunability, [ 14 ] ligand exchange, [ 17,18 ] and heterostructure‐engineering [ 19,20 ] have been reported to manipulate the excitonic characteristics of the final NPLs products with emission covering the whole visible spectral regime.…”

A Micron-Range Displacement Sensor Based on Thermo-Optically Tuned Whispering Gallery Modes in a Microcapillary Resonator

“…In a broader sense, recent developments in nonlinear and quantum optics indicate growing interest in WGM resonators for a range of applications including WGM microlasers [ 16 ], rapidly developing field of optomechanics, that focuses of interactions of WGM photons with acoustic phonons [ 17 ], and utilizing WGM resonators for achieving strong interaction between individual photons [ 18 ], which would constitute a breakthrough in quantum logic, quantum computing and precision measurement with photons.…”

Inverse Design of Whispering-Gallery Nanolasers with Tailored Beam Shape and Polarization

“…One of the most compact types of integrated laser cavities are the optical whispering-gallery mode (WGM) microdisc laser, which exhibit large quality factors and low mode volumes, thereby enhancing the light–matter interaction resulting in low lasing threshold. These properties make them excellent systems for applications such as biochemical sensing, , cell barcoding and tracking, , and optical communications . However, due to their circular geometry, the laser light is radiated in-plane and isotropically. , This limits their range of use due to the poor collection efficiency in the axial direction and to date there has been little effort to engineer the emission beam shape and polarization.…”