Active photonic crystal terahertz laser.
We present the design and the realization of active photonic crystal (PhC) semiconductor lasers. The PhC consists of semiconductor nanostructure pillars which provide gain at a quantized transition energy. The vertical layer sequence is that of a terahertz quantum cascade laser. Thereby, the artificial crystal itself provides the optical gain and the lateral confinement. The cavities do not rely on a central defect, the lasing is observed in flat-band regions at high symmetry points. The experimental results are in excellent agreement with the finite-difference time-domain simulations. For the vertical confinement a double-metal waveguide is used. The lasers are showing a stable single-mode emission under all driving conditions. Varying the period of the PhC allows to tune the frequency by 400 GHz.
Benz
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Photonics Institute and Center for Micro- and Nanostructures, Vienna University of Technology, Gusshausstrasse 29/387, A-1040 Vienna, Austria. alexander.benz@tuwien.ac.at
Deutsch
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Fasching
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Unterrainer
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Andrews
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Klang
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Schrenk
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Strasser
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