Purified plasmonic lasing with strong polarization selectivity by reflection

Abstract

As miniaturized light sources of size beyond the optical diffraction limit, surface plasmon lasers are of particular interest for numerous exciting applications. Although convincing demonstrations of plasmonic lasing have been reported with the metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) hybrid design using semiconductor nanomaterials, it remains a challenge that conventional photonic lasing may be triggered and misinterpreted as plasmonic lasing. One way to address this issue is to cut off photonic modes in the waveguide by strictly restricting the semiconductor thickness. Here we propose a novel hybrid design, namely the dielectric-metal-insulator-semiconductor (DMIS) design that potentially solves the challenge. Taking advantage of strong polarization selectivity by reflection effect in favor of the plasmonic mode, whispering-gallery mode cavities based on the proposed DMIS design suppress possible photonic lasing modes and relieve the semiconductor thickness for purified plasmonic lasing. Using these cavities, we demonstrate room-temperature purified plasmon lasing with cadmium sulphide square nanobelts atop of a deposited multilayer film. Approaches for further improvement of the plamsonic lasing performance are discussed. Our design provides a reliable platform for developing better surface plasmon nanolasers using new semiconductor nanomaterials.