Physicists make electrical nanolasers even smaller

EurekAlert  September 16, 2020
An international team of researchers (Russia, UK) has developed a new approach to create electrically driven nanolasers for integrated circuits. In their approach electrical pumping is based on a double heterostructure with a tunneling Schottky contact. Plasmon-polaritons (SPPs) replace photons. The pumping happens across the interface between the plasmonic metal and semiconductor, along which surface SPPs propagate. The pumping approach makes it possible to bring the electrically driven laser to the nanoscale, while retaining its ability to operate at room temperature and the radiation is effectively directed to a photonic or plasmonic waveguide, making the nanolaser fit for integrated circuits. Further miniaturization would render the device poorly applicable to on-chip integrated circuits, it would be still convenient for chemical and biological sensors and near-field optical spectroscopy or optogenetics. The predicted output power of the nanolaser amounts to over 100 microwatts, which is comparable to much larger photonic lasers. Such a high output power allows each nanolaser to be used to transmit hundreds of gigabits per second. The research lays the foundation for ultrafast optical data transfer in the many core microprocessors expected to emerge soon…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE

Credit: Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology

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