Room-temperature 2D semiconductor activated vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 543 - 7
• Main Authors: Shang, Jingzhi, Cong, Chunxiao, Wang, Zilong, Peimyoo, Namphung, Wu, Lishu, Zou, Chenji, Chen, Yu, Chin, Xin Yu, Wang, Jianpu, Soci, Cesare, Huang, Wei, Yu, Ting
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 14.09.2017; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/624/1020/1093; 639/925/357/1018; Bragg reflectors; Humanities and Social Sciences; Integration; Laser applications; Lasers; Lasing; multidisciplinary; Optical interconnects; Optical pumping; Optoelectronics; Oxides; Room temperature; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Semiconductor lasers; Semiconductors; Single mode operation; Temperature effects; Vertical cavity surface emission lasers
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00743-w

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors are opening a new platform for revitalizing widely spread optoelectronic applications. The realisation of room-temperature vertical 2D lasing from monolayer semiconductors is fundamentally interesting and highly desired for appealing on-chip laser applications such as optical interconnects and supercomputing. Here, we present room-temperature low-threshold lasing from 2D semiconductor activated vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) under continuous-wave pumping. 2D lasing is achieved from a 2D semiconductor. Structurally, dielectric oxides were used to construct the half-wavelength-thick cavity and distributed Bragg reflectors, in favour of single-mode operation and ultralow optical loss; in the cavity centre, the direct-bandgap monolayer WS 2 was embedded as the gain medium, compatible with the planar VCSEL configuration and the monolithic integration technology. This work demonstrates 2D semiconductor activated VCSELs with desirable emission characteristics, which represents a major step towards practical optoelectronic applications of 2D semiconductor lasers. Two-dimensional materials have recently emerged as interesting materials for optoelectronic applications. Here, Shang et al. demonstrate two-dimensional semiconductor activated vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers where both the gain material and the lasing characteristics are two-dimensional.