2018 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
On-chip plasmonic nanolasers for ultrafast optical interconnects
| Project/Area Number |
17H03229
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
J・J Delaunay 東京大学, 大学院工学系研究科(工学部), 准教授 (80376516)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
松井 裕章 東京大学, 大学院工学系研究科(工学部), 准教授 (80397752)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
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| Keywords | プラズモニクス / 光デバイス / ナノ材料 |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
Plasmonic-based nanolasers can achieve ultra small sizes and, therefore, these nanolight sources when used in combination with waveguide nanocircuits can compete with electronic circuits for density. These nanolasers have been reported by mechanically transferring semiconducting nanostructures on smooth metal substrates. Here, we demonstrate plasmonic light sources directly fabricated on a chip by top-down techniques thus making it possible for the fabrication of high-density of light sources on the same chip.
This fiscal year, we could achieve plasmonic lasing for the first time and our results were published in Nano Letters 18, 7769-7776, 2018. Plasmonic lasing was confirmed by controlling the size of the nanolasers and by analyzing the polarization of the emitted light. These results were made possible because we could modify our measurement setup to allow for the control of the polarization of the emitted light as well as for a better control of the spatial resolution of the light collection. Moreover, the materials used for the nanolaser were also improved by optimizing their fabrication conditions (high quality of ZnO thin film for the gain medium, and high purity and smooth thin film for the metal plasmonic layer). Finally, the design of the proposed plasmonic nanostructure was adapted to the top-down techniques by using a top metal layer as both the physical mask for etching and as the metal layer of the plasmonic structure.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
Lasing was observed for the first time this fiscal year, and our results were reported in a very competitive journal (Nano Letters 18, 7769-7776, 2018).
However, the proposed nanolasers still require improvement in terms of their efficiency. Also, the connection of the fabricated nano light source to an optical circuit that can be fabricated on the same chip concurrently with the nanolasers will require further improvements in the design and fabrication of these nanodevices.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
In the next steps, we will improve the efficiency of the nanolasers and couple the light emitted by the nanolasers into a nanocircuit fabricated on the same chip. To realize this goal, an improved design of the nanolasers will be investigated by simulation. Using hybrid plasmonic modes, more efficient nanolasers may be fabricated. We will attempt to fabricate the new design of the nanolasers together with their waveguide nanocircuits. In order to characterize the fabricated devices, we will modify our measurement setup so as to enable light collection from the end of the waveguide nanocircuits.
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