One-dimensional photonic crystal surface plasmon nanolaser for on-chip optical interconnects

Abstract

Optical devices can beyond the diffraction limit through surface plasmon technology and realize on-chip optical interconnection. A qualified on-chip light source needs to meet the following requirements: smaller size, lower power consumption and higher output power. In our study, a nanolaser is designed based on surface plasmon, and a 1D photonic crystal structure is combined with the etching periodic and taper holes in the transverse waveguide. We simulated the Q factor, Purcell factor, mode volume, and waveguide coupling efficiency of resonantor, and analyzed the output characteristics and modulation response characteristics of the laser. Studies have shown that the combo surface plasmon 1D photonic crystal nanobeam cavity has excellent performance, the mode volume is only 0.15 (λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">R</sub> /n) <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sup> , and the Q factor of 808, the Purcell factor of 106 and the waveguide coupling efficiency of 75% are achieved. The nanolaser we designed works at a wavelength of 1535nm, with a 3-dB bandwidth at a threshold pump rate of 134GHz, and produces an output power of more than 10μW at an injection current of 17μA, which meets the energy requirements of the nanometre chip light source. This ultra-small nanometre light source with low power consumption and high modulation rate provides a new solution for the next generation of on-chip optical interconnection.