Disclosed are photonic particles and methods of using particles in biological samples. The particles are configured to emit laser light when energetically stimulated by, e.g., a pump source. The particles may include a gain medium with inorganic materials, an optical cavity with high refractive index, and a coating with organic materials. The particles may be smaller than 3 microns along their longest axes. The particles may attach to each other to form, e.g., doublets and triplets. The particles may be injection-locked by coupling an injection beam into a particle while pumping so that an injection seed is amplified to develop into laser oscillation. A microscopy system may include a pump source, beam scanner, spectrometer with resolution of less than 1 nanometer and acquisition rate of more than 1 kilohertz, and spectral analyzer configured to distinguish spectral peaks of laser output from broadband background.

An emissive Solid State Imager (SSI) comprised of a spatial array of digitally addressable multicolor micro pixels. The imager efficiently produces white light by means of a photonic layer excited by a nanophosphors nanoparticle structure in a pixel element comprising an optical confinement cavity which may include a micro lens array for directional modulation of the emitted light or an RGB filter for color output. The light generated is emitted via a plurality of vertical optical waveguides that extract and collimate the light.

Examples disclosed herein relate to multi-wavelength semiconductor lasers. In some examples disclosed herein, a multi-wavelength semiconductor laser may include a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate and a quantum dot (QD) layer above the SOI substrate. The QD layer may include and active gain region and may have at least one angled junction at one end of the QD layer. The SOI substrate may include a waveguide in an upper silicon layer and a mode converter to facilitate optical coupling of a lasing mode to the waveguide.

Examples disclosed herein relate to multi-wavelength semiconductor lasers. In some examples disclosed herein, a multi-wavelength semiconductor laser may include a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate and a quantum dot (QD) layer above the SOI substrate. The QD layer may include and active gain region and may have at least one angled junction at one end of the QD layer. The SOI substrate may include a waveguide in an upper silicon layer and a mode converter to facilitate optical coupling of a lasing mode to the waveguide.

A light emitting apparatus including a plurality of first light emitters and a plurality of second light emitters that differ from the first light emitters in terms of resonance wavelength, in which the second light emitters are each disposed between each adjacent pair of the first light emitters, first light that resonates in the plurality of first light emitters is in phase, and second light that resonates in the plurality of second light emitters is in phase.

Examples disclosed herein relate to quantum-dot (QD) photonics. In accordance with some of the examples disclosed herein, a QD semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) may include a silicon substrate and a QD layer above the silicon substrate. The QD layer may include an active gain region to amplify a lasing mode received from an optical signal generator. The QD layer may have a gain recovery time such that the active gain region amplifies the received lasing mode without pattern effects. A waveguide may be included in an upper silicon layer of the silicon substrate. The waveguide may include a mode converter to facilitate optical coupling of the received lasing mode between the QD layer and the waveguide.

Optical gain media and gain devices are required for lasing devices and high intensity optical systems across a wide range of application. A compact optical gain device that provides near-infrared and infrared lasing at room temperature includes an optical microcavity having a refractive index and a curvilinear outer surface with an angle of curvature such that the optical microcavity supports the propagation of an electromagnetic whispering gallery mode. A plurality of optical gain structures are disposed along the curvilinear outer surface of the optical microcavity, the each of the optical gain structures having an optically active wavelength range over which each of the corresponding optical gain structures provides optical gain to radiation through stimulated emission.

A laser structure including a Si or Ge substrate, a III-V buffer layer formed on the substrate, a light emitting diode (LED) formed on the buffer layer configured to produce visible light, a lens disposed on the LED to focus light from the LED, a photonic crystal layer formed on the LED to receive the light focused by the lens, and a monolayer semiconductor nanocavity laser formed on the photonic crystal layer for receiving light through the photonic crystal layer from the LED. The LED and the laser are formed monolithically and the LED acts as an optical pump for the laser.

A method for forming a pumped laser structure includes forming a III-V buffer layer on a substrate including one of Si or Ge; forming a light emitting diode (LED) on the buffer layer configured to produce a threshold pump power; forming a photonic crystal layer on the LED and depositing a monolayer semiconductor nanocavity laser on the photonic crystal layer for receiving light through the photonic crystal layer from the LED with an optical pump power greater than the threshold pump power, wherein the LED and the laser are formed monolithically and the LED functions as an optical pump for the laser.

An electronic device includes a substrate and at least two electrodes spaced by a nanogap, wherein the at least two electrodes are bridged by at least one nanoparticle and wherein the at least one nanoparticle has an overlap area with the at least two electrodes higher than 2% of the area of the at least one nanoparticle. A method of manufacturing of the electronic device and the use of the electronic device in photodetector, transistor, phototransistor, optical modulator, electrical diode, photovoltaic cell or electroluminescent component are also described.