The present invention provides one or more injection-lockable whistle-geometry semiconductor ring lasers, which may be cascaded, that are integrated on a common silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate with a single-frequency semiconductor master laser, wherein the light output from the semiconductor master laser is used to injection-lock the first of the semiconductor ring lasers. The ring lasers can be operated in strongly injection-locked mode, while at least one of them is subjected to direct injection current modulation.

A structure includes a semiconductor support, a semiconductor region overlying the semiconductor support, a silicon nitride layer surrounding and straining the semiconductor region, and a metal foot separating the silicon nitride layer from the semiconductor support. The semiconductor region includes germanium. The semiconductor region can be a resonator of a laser or a waveguide.

A high Q whispering gallery mode resonator with ion-implanted voids is described. A resonator device includes a resonator disk formed of an electrooptic material. The resonator disk includes a top surface, a bottom surface substantially parallel to the top surface, and a side structure between the top surface and the bottom surface. The side structure includes an axial surface along a perimeter of the resonator disk, where a midplane passes through the axial surface dividing the axial surface into symmetrical halves. The whispering gallery mode resonator disk includes voids localized at a particular depth from the top surface. At least one of the voids localized at the particular depth from the top surface is located at an outer extremity towards the perimeter of the resonator disk. The resonator device can further include a first electrode on the top surface and a second electrode on the bottom surface.

The present disclosure relates to a three-dimensional cylindrical cavity-type laser system capable of supporting circumferential radial emission. A cylindrical ring waveguide provides optical confinement in the radial and axial dimensions thereby supporting a plurality of radial modes, one of a plurality of axial modes and a plurality of degenerate azimuthal modes. These modes constitute a set of traveling wave modes which propagate around the cylindrical ring waveguide possessing various degrees of optical confinement as quantified by their respective Q-factors. Index tailoring is used to tailor the radial refractive index profile and geometry of the waveguide to support radial modes possessing Q-factors capable of producing efficient radial emission, while gain tailoring is used to define a gain confining region which offsets modal gain factors of the modal constituency to favor a preferred set of modes supporting efficient radial emission out of the total modal constituency supported by the resonator. Under appropriate pump actuation the selected modes produce circumferential laser radiation with the output surface comprising of the entire outer perimeter of the cylindrical ring waveguide. The design is applicable toward both micro-resonators and resonators much larger than the optical wavelength, enabling high output powers and scalability. The circumferential radial laser emission can be concentrated by positioning the cylindrical ring laser inside a three-dimensional conical mirror thereby forming a laser ring of light propagating in the axial dimension away from the surface of the laser, which can be subsequently collimated for focused using conventional optics.

A method for fabricating an ellipsoidal or semi-ellipsoidal semiconductor structure includes steps of providing a semiconductor substrate and fabricating an ellipsoidal or semi-ellipsoidal cavity structure on the semiconductor substrate. The cavity structure encompasses a seed surface of the semiconductor substrate. The method includes a further step of growing the ellipsoidal or semi-ellipsoidal semiconductor structure within the ellipsoidal or semi-ellipsoidal cavity structure from the seed surface of the semiconductor substrate. Fabricating the cavity structure includes arranging a droplet comprising a sacrificial material on the semiconductor substrate, forming a layer of a coating material on the semiconductor substrate and the droplet, and selectively removing the sacrificial material of the droplet to expose the cavity structure.

A method for fabricating an ellipsoidal or semi-ellipsoidal semiconductor structure includes steps of providing a semiconductor substrate and fabricating an ellipsoidal or semi-ellipsoidal cavity structure on the semiconductor substrate. The cavity structure encompasses a seed surface of the semiconductor substrate. The method includes a further step of growing the ellipsoidal or semi-ellipsoidal semiconductor structure within the ellipsoidal or semi-ellipsoidal cavity structure from the seed surface of the semiconductor substrate. Fabricating the cavity structure includes arranging a droplet comprising a sacrificial material on the semiconductor substrate, forming a layer of a coating material on the semiconductor substrate and the droplet, and selectively removing the sacrificial material of the droplet to expose the cavity structure.

Embodiments of the invention relate to a plasmonic laser including a substrate and a coaxial plasmonic cavity formed on the substrate and adapted to facilitate a plasmonic mode. The plasmonic laser further includes an electrical pumping circuit configured to electrically pump the plasmonic laser. The coaxial plasmonic cavity includes a peripheral plasmonic ring structure, a central plasmonic core and a gain structure arranged between the peripheral plasmonic ring structure and the central plasmonic core. The gain structure includes one or more ring-shaped quantum wells as gain material. The one or more ring-shaped quantum wells have a surface that is aligned orthogonal to a surface of the substrate. The electrical pumping circuit is configured to pump the plasmonic laser via the peripheral plasmonic ring structure and the central plasmonic core.

A ring optical resonator is formed on a substrate. An outer circumferential surface of the resonator substantially confines one or more circumferential resonant optical modes. The resonator is positioned above a void formed in the substrate and is supported above the void by a portion of a material layer on the substrate that extends radially inward above the void from an outer circumferential edge of the void to the outer circumferential surface of the resonator. An optical waveguide can be integrally formed on the substrate and traverses a portion of the material layer above the void. The optical waveguide and the ring optical resonator are arranged and positioned so as to establish evanescent optical coupling between them. Q-factors of 10.sup.8 or more have been achieved with a silica resonator and silicon nitride waveguide integrally formed on a silicon substrate.

A micro disk laser having a greater strength of oscillation in one direction than in another direction and unidirectionally oscillating includes a micro disk having an oval shape corresponding to a modified ellipse obtained by changing a length of a short axis of an ellipse according to a position of a long axis while lengths of first and second side portions of the long axis are fixed in the ellipse, the ellipse having the long axis and the short axis having a different length than the long axis.

A split electrode vertical cavity optical device includes an n-type ohmic contact layer, first through fifth ion implant regions, cathode and anode electrodes, first and second injector terminals, and p and n type modulation doped quantum well structures. The cathode electrode and the first and second ion implant regions are formed on the n-type ohmic contact layer. The third ion implant region is formed on the first ion implant region and contacts the p-type modulation doped QW structure. The fourth ion implant region encompasses the n-type modulation doped QW structure. The first and second injector terminals are formed on the third and fourth ion implant regions, respectively. The fifth ion implant region is formed above the n-type modulation doped QW structure and the anode electrode is formed above the fifth ion implant region.