Electrically-pumped compact topological bulk lasers driven by band-inverted bound states in the continuum
Abstract One of the most exciting breakthroughs in physics is the concept of topology that was recently introduced to photonics, achieving robust functionalities, as manifested in the recently demonstrated topological lasers. However, so far almost all attention was focused on lasing from topologica...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Publishing Group
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Light: Science & Applications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-023-01200-8 |
| _version_ | 1827922760599339008 |
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| author | Song Han Jieyuan Cui Yunda Chua Yongquan Zeng Liangxing Hu Mingjin Dai Fakun Wang Fangyuan Sun Song Zhu Lianhe Li Alexander Giles Davies Edmund Harold Linfield Chuan Seng Tan Yuri Kivshar Qi Jie Wang |
| author_facet | Song Han Jieyuan Cui Yunda Chua Yongquan Zeng Liangxing Hu Mingjin Dai Fakun Wang Fangyuan Sun Song Zhu Lianhe Li Alexander Giles Davies Edmund Harold Linfield Chuan Seng Tan Yuri Kivshar Qi Jie Wang |
| author_sort | Song Han |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract One of the most exciting breakthroughs in physics is the concept of topology that was recently introduced to photonics, achieving robust functionalities, as manifested in the recently demonstrated topological lasers. However, so far almost all attention was focused on lasing from topological edge states. Bulk bands that reflect the topological bulk-edge correspondence have been largely missed. Here, we demonstrate an electrically pumped topological bulk quantum cascade laser (QCL) operating in the terahertz (THz) frequency range. In addition to the band-inversion induced in-plane reflection due to topological nontrivial cavity surrounded by a trivial domain, we further illustrate the band edges of such topological bulk lasers are recognized as the bound states in the continuum (BICs) due to their nonradiative characteristics and robust topological polarization charges in the momentum space. Therefore, the lasing modes show both in-plane and out-of-plane tight confinements in a compact laser cavity (lateral size ~3λlaser). Experimentally, we realize a miniaturized THz QCL that shows single-mode lasing with a side-mode suppression ratio (SMSR) around 20 dB. We also observe a cylindrical vector beam for the far-field emission, which is evidence for topological bulk BIC lasers. Our demonstration on miniaturization of single-mode beam-engineered THz lasers is promising for many applications including imaging, sensing, and communications. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:47:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4fc239bb439b4ff5a434ffc1e5bcd748 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2047-7538 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:47:22Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Light: Science & Applications |
| spelling | doaj.art-4fc239bb439b4ff5a434ffc1e5bcd7482023-06-18T11:25:19ZengNature Publishing GroupLight: Science & Applications2047-75382023-06-011211910.1038/s41377-023-01200-8Electrically-pumped compact topological bulk lasers driven by band-inverted bound states in the continuumSong Han0Jieyuan Cui1Yunda Chua2Yongquan Zeng3Liangxing Hu4Mingjin Dai5Fakun Wang6Fangyuan Sun7Song Zhu8Lianhe Li9Alexander Giles Davies10Edmund Harold Linfield11Chuan Seng Tan12Yuri Kivshar13Qi Jie Wang14Centre for Optoelectronics and Biophotonics, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering & The Photonics Institute, Nanyang Technological UniversityCentre for Optoelectronics and Biophotonics, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering & The Photonics Institute, Nanyang Technological UniversityCentre for Optoelectronics and Biophotonics, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering & The Photonics Institute, Nanyang Technological UniversityElectronic Information School, Wuhan UniversityCentre for Optoelectronics and Biophotonics, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering & The Photonics Institute, Nanyang Technological UniversityCentre for Optoelectronics and Biophotonics, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering & The Photonics Institute, Nanyang Technological UniversityCentre for Optoelectronics and Biophotonics, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering & The Photonics Institute, Nanyang Technological UniversityCentre for Optoelectronics and Biophotonics, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering & The Photonics Institute, Nanyang Technological UniversityCentre for Optoelectronics and Biophotonics, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering & The Photonics Institute, Nanyang Technological UniversitySchool of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of LeedsSchool of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of LeedsSchool of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of LeedsCentre for Optoelectronics and Biophotonics, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering & The Photonics Institute, Nanyang Technological UniversityNonlinear Physics Center, Research School of Physics, Australian National UniversityCentre for Optoelectronics and Biophotonics, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering & The Photonics Institute, Nanyang Technological UniversityAbstract One of the most exciting breakthroughs in physics is the concept of topology that was recently introduced to photonics, achieving robust functionalities, as manifested in the recently demonstrated topological lasers. However, so far almost all attention was focused on lasing from topological edge states. Bulk bands that reflect the topological bulk-edge correspondence have been largely missed. Here, we demonstrate an electrically pumped topological bulk quantum cascade laser (QCL) operating in the terahertz (THz) frequency range. In addition to the band-inversion induced in-plane reflection due to topological nontrivial cavity surrounded by a trivial domain, we further illustrate the band edges of such topological bulk lasers are recognized as the bound states in the continuum (BICs) due to their nonradiative characteristics and robust topological polarization charges in the momentum space. Therefore, the lasing modes show both in-plane and out-of-plane tight confinements in a compact laser cavity (lateral size ~3λlaser). Experimentally, we realize a miniaturized THz QCL that shows single-mode lasing with a side-mode suppression ratio (SMSR) around 20 dB. We also observe a cylindrical vector beam for the far-field emission, which is evidence for topological bulk BIC lasers. Our demonstration on miniaturization of single-mode beam-engineered THz lasers is promising for many applications including imaging, sensing, and communications.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-023-01200-8 |
| spellingShingle | Song Han Jieyuan Cui Yunda Chua Yongquan Zeng Liangxing Hu Mingjin Dai Fakun Wang Fangyuan Sun Song Zhu Lianhe Li Alexander Giles Davies Edmund Harold Linfield Chuan Seng Tan Yuri Kivshar Qi Jie Wang Electrically-pumped compact topological bulk lasers driven by band-inverted bound states in the continuum Light: Science & Applications |
| title | Electrically-pumped compact topological bulk lasers driven by band-inverted bound states in the continuum |
| title_full | Electrically-pumped compact topological bulk lasers driven by band-inverted bound states in the continuum |
| title_fullStr | Electrically-pumped compact topological bulk lasers driven by band-inverted bound states in the continuum |
| title_full_unstemmed | Electrically-pumped compact topological bulk lasers driven by band-inverted bound states in the continuum |
| title_short | Electrically-pumped compact topological bulk lasers driven by band-inverted bound states in the continuum |
| title_sort | electrically pumped compact topological bulk lasers driven by band inverted bound states in the continuum |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-023-01200-8 |
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