Nanolaser

A nanolaser is a laser fabricated at the nanoscale, typically referring to lasers with dimensions below the wavelength of light they emit. These devices often rely on different physical mechanisms than conventional macroscopic lasers due to the strong confinement of light and matter at this scale. Key characteristics of nanolasers include their small size, low power consumption, and potential for integration into nanoscale optoelectronic circuits.

Compared to conventional lasers, nanolasers face challenges such as increased optical losses and difficulty in achieving sufficient gain. Various designs have been explored to overcome these challenges, including plasmonic nanolasers, photonic crystal nanolasers, and semiconductor nanowire lasers.

Plasmonic nanolasers utilize surface plasmons to confine light to subwavelength dimensions, but suffer from high losses due to the metallic components. Photonic crystal nanolasers employ periodic dielectric structures to create bandgaps and confine light through photonic bandgap effects. Semiconductor nanowire lasers use semiconductor nanowires as gain media and optical cavities.

Applications for nanolasers are diverse and include on-chip optical interconnects, high-resolution microscopy, nanoscale sensing, and data storage. Research and development in this field are ongoing, with a focus on improving efficiency, stability, and integration capabilities.