Mode selection in InGaAs/InGaAsP quantum well photonic crystal lasers based on coupled double-heterostructure cavities

Abstract

Photonic crystal lasers with a high-Q factor and small mode volume are ideal light sources for on-chip nano-photonic integration. Due to the submicron size of their active region, it is usually difficult to achieve high output power and single-mode lasing at the same time. In this work, we demonstrate well-selected single-mode lasing in a line-defect photonic crystal cavity by coupling it to the high-Q modes of a short double-heterostructure photonic crystal cavity. One of the FP-like modes of the line-defect cavity can be selected to lase by thermo-optically tuning the high-Q mode of the short cavity into resonance. Six FP-like modes are successively tuned into lasing with side mode suppression ratios all exceeding 15 dB. Furthermore, we show a continuous wavelength tunability of about 10 nm from all the selected modes. The coupled cavity system provides a remarkable platform to explore the rich laser physics through the spatial modulation of vacuum electromagnetic field at submicron scale.