Metal-cavity surface-emitting microlaser at room temperature

We propose and realize a substrate-free metal-cavity surface-emitting microlaser with both top and sidewall metal and a bottom distributed Bragg reflector as the cavity structure. The transfer-matrix method is used to design the laser structure based on the round-trip resonance condition inside the cavity. The laser is 2.0 mu m in diameter and 2.5 mu m in height, and operates at room temperature with continuous-wave mode. Flip-bonding the device to a silicon substrate with a conductive metal provides efficient heat removal. A high characteristic temperature about 425 K is observed from 10 to 27 degrees C. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3455316]