Abstract
The design of highly wavelength tunable semiconductor laser structures is presented. The system is based on a one dimensional photonic crystal cavity consisting of two patterned, doubly-clamped nanobeams, otherwise known as a "zipper" cavity. Zipper cavities are highly dispersive with respect to the gap between nanobeams in which extremely strong radiation pressure forces exist. Schemes for controlling the zipper cavity wavelength both optically and electrically are presented. Tuning ranges as high as 75 nm are achieved for a nominal design wavelength of lambda = 1.3 microm. Sensitivity of the mechanically compliant laser structure to thermal noise is considered, and it is found that dynamic back-action of radiation pressure in the form of an optical or electrical spring can be used to stabilize the laser frequency. Fabrication of zipper cavity laser structures in GaAs material with embedded self-assembled InAs quantum dots is presented, along with measurements of photoluminescence spectroscopy of the zipper cavity modes.
Highlights
The tuning functionality of semiconductor laser cavities is an important attribute for a variety of applications, from spectroscopy[1,2,3] and lightwave communication[4], to cavity quantum-electrodynamics (QED) studies of light matter interactions[5]
We consider the properties of a photonic crystal (PC) “zipper” optomechanical cavity[17,18] as it pertains to on-chip semiconductor lasers
Initial photoluminescence measurements of fabricated zipper cavities in GaAs membranes containing an active region consisting of self-assembled InAs quantum dots is presented
Summary
The tuning functionality of semiconductor laser cavities is an important attribute for a variety of applications, from spectroscopy[1,2,3] and lightwave communication[4], to cavity quantum-electrodynamics (QED) studies of light matter interactions[5]. We propose a master-slave cavity system for optical-force actuation of the zipper cavity, and explore the range of tuning and frequency stability in such mechanically compliant laser cavity structures. In order to provide wideband, stable, external tuning of the zipper laser cavity, in this work we propose a scheme in which a master actuator is mechanically coupled to a slave laser cavity. In this scheme, such a master actuator can either be another zipper cavity optical mode (Fig. 1(b)), an entirely different zipper cavity, or a capacitively actuated MEMS structure (Fig. 1(c)). Parallels and differences between optical and electrical control will be highlighted, including discussion of noise control using the optical spring effect and its electrical counterpart
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