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Applications of nanolasers

Nature Nanotechnology volume 14, pages 12–22 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

Nanolasers generate coherent light at the nanoscale. In the past decade, they have attracted intense interest, because they are more compact, faster and more power-efficient than conventional lasers. Thanks to these capabilities, nanolasers are now an emergent tool for a variety of practical applications. In this Review, we explain the intrinsic merits of nanolasers and assess recent progress on their applications, particularly for optical interconnects, near-field spectroscopy and sensing, optical probing for biological systems and far-field beam synthesis through near-field eigenmode engineering. We highlight the scientific and engineering challenges that remain for forging nanolasers into powerful tools for nanoscience and nanotechnology.

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Fig. 1: Development and intrinsic merits of nanolasers.
Fig. 2: Relationships between light output power and key nanolaser parameters relevant to optical interconnects.
Fig. 3: Nanolasers for optical interconnects.
Fig. 4: Near-field applications of nanolasers.
Fig. 5: Eigenmode engineering of nanolasers.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 11574012, 11774014, 61521004), the Youth 1000 Talents Plan Fund, UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research council (EP/M013812/1), the Leverhulme Trust (RPG-2016-064) and the EU’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (PIRG08-GA-2010-277080).

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  1. State Key Lab for Mesoscopic Physics and School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China

    Ren-Min Ma

  2. Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing, China

    Ren-Min Ma

  3. The Blackett Laboratory, Department of Physics, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Rupert F. Oulton

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Ma, RM., Oulton, R.F. Applications of nanolasers. Nature Nanotech 14, 12–22 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-018-0320-y

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