title: Plasmonic crystal defect nanolaser.
abstract: Surface plasmons are widely interesting due to their ability to probe nanoscale dimensions. To create coherent plasmons, we demonstrate a nanolaser based on a plasmonic bandgap defect state inside a surface plasmonic crystal. A one-dimensional semiconductor-based plasmonic crystal is engineered to have stopbands in which surface plasmons are prohibited from travelling in the crystalline structure. We then confine surface plasmons using a three-hole defect in the periodic structure. Using conventional III-V semiconductors, we achieve lasing in mode volumes as small as V(eff) = 0.3(λ₀/n)³ at λ₀ = 1342 nm, which is 10 times smaller than similar modes in photonic crystals of the same size. This demonstration should pave the way for achieving engineered nanolasers with deep-subwavelength mode volumes and attractive nanophotonics integration capabilities while enabling the use of plasmonic crystals as an attractive platform for designing plasmons.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Amit M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Lakhani
authors.forename: Myung-ki
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Erwin K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: Ming C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Wu