Room-temperature continuous-wave operation of lateral current injection wavelength-scale embedded active-region photonic-crystal laser

We have developed a wavelength-scale embedded active-region photonic-crystal laser using lateral p-i-n structure. Zn diffusion and Si ion implantation are used for p- and n-type doping. Room-temperature continuous-wave lasing behavior is clearly observed from the injection current dependence of the output power, 3dB-bandwidth of the peak, and lasing wavelength. The threshold current is 390 mu A and the estimated effective threshold current is 9.4 mu A. The output power in output waveguide is 1.82 mu W for a 2.0-mA current injection. These results indicate that the embedded active-region structure effectively reduce the thermal resistance. Ultrasmall electrically driven lasers are an important step towards on-chip photonic network applications. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America