On-chip room-temperature CW lasing from a III-V nanowire integrated with a Si photonic crystal platform

We report the demonstration of continuous-wave (CW) lasing at room temperature from a III-V semiconductor nanowire integrated into a Si photonic crystal (PhC) cavity. Our previous hybrid nanowire lasers, which typically feature circular nanowire-cross-sections, suffer from a weak optical confinement, preventing CW lasing under ambient conditions. To overcome this limitation, we fabricated nanowires with rectangular cross-sections via dry etching and integrated them into the air trenches of Si PhC cavities formed using atomic force microscope tips. This configuration forms a hybrid photonic crystal cavity with an improved optical confinement. As a result, we achieved room-temperature CW lasing from a single nanowire, representing a significant step toward on-chip nanophotonic light sources. This unique in-plane integration of the nanolaser in the same plane as the Si slab rather than on top of the substrate will contribute to the development of compact, scalable, and CMOS-compatible photonic circuits.