Title: Photonic crystal surface-emitting lasers

Abstract

A photonic-crystal surface-emitting laser (PCSEL) includes a gain medium electromagnetically coupled to a photonic crystal whose energy band structure exhibits a Dirac cone of linear dispersion at the center of the photonic crystal's Brillouin zone. This Dirac cone's vertex is called a Dirac point; because it is at the Brillouin zone center, it is called an accidental Dirac point. Tuning the photonic crystal's band structure (e.g., by changing the photonic crystal's dimensions or refractive index) to exhibit an accidental Dirac point increases the photonic crystal's mode spacing by orders of magnitudes and reduces or eliminates the photonic crystal's distributed in-plane feedback. Thus, the photonic crystal can act as a resonator that supports single-mode output from the PCSEL over a larger area than is possible with conventional PCSELs, which have quadratic band edge dispersion. Because output power generally scales with output area, this increase in output area results in higher possible output powers.

Inventors:

Chua, Song Liang; Lu, Ling; Soljacic, Marin

Issue Date:

Tue Jun 23 00:00:00 EDT 2015

Research Org.:

Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE

OSTI Identifier:

1185279

Patent Number(s):

9065249

Application Number:

14/525,795

Assignee:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)

Patent Classifications (CPCs):

H - ELECTRICITY H01 - BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS H01S - DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT

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H - ELECTRICITY H01 - BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS H01S - DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT

H01S5/187 - using a distributed Bragg reflector [SE-DBR-lasers]
H01S5/34 - comprising quantum well or superlattice structures, e.g. single quantum well lasers [SQW-lasers], multiple quantum well lasers [MQW-lasers] or graded index separate confinement heterostructure lasers [GRINSCH-lasers]

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DOE Contract Number:  

SC0001299

Resource Type:

Patent

Resource Relation:

Patent File Date: 2014 Oct 28

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; 75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY