Cui, J., Han, S., Zhu, B. et al. (7 more authors) (2025) Ultracompact multibound-state-assisted flat-band lasers. Nature Photonics, 19 (6). pp. 643-649. ISSN 1749-4885
Abstract
Highly compact lasers with a low threshold and stable single-mode operation are in great demand for integrated optoelectronics. However, considerable side leakages and radiation losses in small cavities substantially degrade the quality (Q) factor, posing a substantial obstacle in pursuing high-performance miniature lasers. Here we propose and experimentally demonstrate a flat-band laser supplemented by multiple bound states in the continuum. By simultaneously confining light in all three dimensions, a high Q factor of ~1,440 in an ultracompact terahertz quantum cascade laser cavity with a lateral size of ~3λ is reported. The field confinement makes it possible to realize an electrically pumped single-mode terahertz laser with a low threshold current density, despite the small device footprint. This surface-emitting laser emits a well-defined beam with good directionality. The demonstrated multibound-state-assisted flat-band design is also applicable to other wavelength regimes, offering a route to energy-efficient, monolithically integrated and ultracompact laser sources that suit a wide range of applications.
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Item Type: | Article |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc-nd/4.0/. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Electronic & Electrical Engineering (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 19 Jun 2025 09:45 |
Last Modified: | 19 Jun 2025 09:45 |
Published Version: | https://www.nature.com/articles/s41566-025-01665-6 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Nature |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s41566-025-01665-6 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:227969 |
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