Abstract
We report a systematic study of thermal effects in photonic crystal membrane lasers based on line-defect cavities. Two material platforms, InGaAsP and InP, are investigated experimentally and numerically. Lasers with quantum dot layers embedded in an InP membrane exhibit lasing at room temperature under CW optical pumping, whereas InGaAsP membranes only lase under pulsed conditions. By varying the duty cycle of the pump beam, we quantify the heating induced by optical pumping in the two material platforms and compare their thermal properties. Full 3D finite element simulations show the spatial temperature profile and are in good agreement with the experimental results concerning the thermal tolerance of the two platforms.
Highlights
Photonic Crystal (PhC) membrane structures offer exciting possibilities for controlling light propagation and light-matter interactions in ultra-small structures and have attracted extensive attention the past decades [1]
We report a systematic study of thermal effects in photonic crystal membrane lasers based on line-defect cavities
Lasers with quantum dot layers embedded in an InP membrane exhibit lasing at room temperature under CW optical pumping, whereas InGaAsP membranes only lase under pulsed conditions
Summary
Photonic Crystal (PhC) membrane structures offer exciting possibilities for controlling light propagation and light-matter interactions in ultra-small structures and have attracted extensive attention the past decades [1]. Because the semiconductor membrane has a thickness of a few hundred nanometers and normally is suspended in air, heat generated through the pumping process, either optical or electrical, may accumulate in the structure, making it difficult to achieve continuous-wave (CW) lasing at room temperature [11,12,13,14]. In [18], a major development in PhC laser technology was demonstrated by confining a buried-heterostructure active region within the line-defect cavity. We present systematic investigations of the thermal properties of InGaAsP and InP photonic crystal membrane lasers. In both cases, the active layers are composed of InAs quantum dots (QDs) and we explain in detail how the structures are fabricated. Thermal simulations using threedimensional finite element techniques show good agreement with the experimental observations and reveal the spatial temperature profile in the lasers
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