Heterostructure and Q-factor engineering for low-threshold and persistent nanowire lasing
Stefan Skalsky, Yunyan Zhang, Juan Arturo Alanis, H. Aruni Fonseka, Ana M. Sánchez, Huiyun Liu, Patrick Parkinson
Abstract
Abstract Continuous room temperature nanowire lasing from silicon-integrated optoelectronic elements requires careful optimisation of both the lasing cavity Q -factor and population inversion conditions. We apply time-gated optical interferometry to the lasing emission from high-quality GaAsP/GaAs quantum well nanowire laser structures, revealing high Q -factors of 1250 ± 90 corresponding to end-facet reflectivities of R = 0.73 ± 0.02. By using optimised direct–indirect band alignment in the active region, we demonstrate a well-refilling mechanism providing a quasi-four-level system leading to multi-nanosecond lasing and record low room temperature lasing thresholds (~6 μJ cm −2 pulse −1 ) for III–V nanowire lasers. Our findings demonstrate a highly promising new route towards continuously operating silicon-integrated nanolaser elements.