Gain and lasing from CdSe/CdS nanoplatelet stripe waveguides

Colloidal semiconducting nanocrystals are efficient, stable and spectrally tunable emitters, but achievable optical gain is often limited by fast nonradiative processes. These processes are strongly suppressed in slab-shaped nanocrystals (nanoplatelets), due to relaxed exciton Coulomb interaction. Here, we show that CdSe/CdS nano-platelets can be engineered into (sub)microscopic stripe waveguides that achieve lasing without further com-ponents for feedback, i.e., just relying on the stripe end reflection. We find a remarkably high gain factor for the CdSe/CdS nanoplatelets of 1630cm- 1. In addition, by comparison with numerical simulations we assign a distinct emission peak broadening above laser threshold to emission pulse shortening. Our results illustrate the feasibility of geometrically simple monolithic microscale nanoplatelet lasers as an attractive option for a variety of photonic applications.

Automated summary

The study demonstrates the feasibility of using geometrically simple monolithic microscale CdSe/CdS nanoplatelet lasers as a promising option for various photonic applications. The CdSe/CdS nanoplatelets show high gain factor and emission pulse shortening.