How small can “Nano” be in a “Nanolaser”?

Nanophotonics

article

Jacob B. Khurgin¹  Greg Sun² 

[1] Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins University;Department of Physics, University of Massachusetts Boston

关键词: laser;    plasmon;    semiconductor;   

DOI  :  10.1515/nanoph-2012-0017

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: De Gruyter

【 摘 要 】

We show that the lasing threshold of the single mode metal-semiconductor nano-laser (spaser) is determined only by the photon absorption rate in the metal and exhibits very weak dependence on the composition, shape, size (as long as it is less than half-wavelength) and temperature of the gain medium. This threshold current is on the order of a few tens of micro-amperes for most semiconductor-metal combinations which leads to unattainably high threshold current densities for a substantially subwavelength laser (spaser). Therefore, in our view, surface plasmon emitting diodes, (SPEDs), operating far below “spasing” threshold may be a more viable option for the chip scale integrated nanophotonics.

【 授权许可】

CC BY