Multimode Vortex Lasing from Dye–TiO2 Lattices via Bound States in the Continuum

Abstract

Spatially extended bound states in the continuum (BICs) can provide high-quality optical feedback for vortex lasing. This work reports that three out of the four supported BIC modes in 2D square lattices of dye-covered TiO2 nanoparticles can lase simultaneously under pulsed pumping, while the remaining one can be tuned into the gain bandwidth by adjusting the nanoparticle size. All the BIC modes in the in-plane symmetric lattices exhibited doughnut-shaped lasing patterns, regardless of the pump polarization, but with a polarization-dependent threshold. Multiple vortex beams can be generated by illuminating with multiple pump spots. When changing the nanoparticle shape from square to trapezoidal, the symmetry breaking resulted in predominantly single-lobed lasing at symmetry-breaking-induced band edges and dramatically suppressed two-lobe lasing at BIC modes. Such on-chip multimode lasing with different polarization patterns thus enables multiplexing in not only wavelength, but also polarization.