Monolayer excitonic laser

Yu Ye, Zi Jing Wong, Xiufang Lu, Xingjie Ni, Hanyu Zhu, Xianhui Chen, Yuan Wang, Xiang Zhang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

540 Scopus citations

Abstract

Two-dimensional van der Waals materials have opened a new paradigm for fundamental physics exploration and device applications because of their emerging physical properties. Unlike gapless graphene, monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are two-dimensional semiconductors that undergo an indirect-to-direct bandgap transition, creating new optical functionalities for next-generation ultra-compact photonics and optoelectronics. Although the enhancement of spontaneous emission has been reported on TMDC monolayers integrated with photonic crystals and distributed Bragg reflector microcavities, coherent light emission from a TMDC monolayer has not been demonstrated. Here, we report the realization of a two-dimensional excitonic laser by embedding monolayer WS2 in a microdisk resonator. Using a whispering gallery mode with a high quality factor and optical confinement, we observe bright excitonic lasing at visible wavelengths. This demonstration of a two-dimensional excitonic laser marks a major step towards two-dimensional on-chip optoelectronics for high-performance optical communication and computing applications.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)733-737
Number of pages5
JournalNature Photonics
Volume9
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 29 2015

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

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