Colloidal Quantum Dot Infrared Lasers Featuring Sub-Single-Exciton Threshold and Very High Gain |
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Authors: | Nima Taghipour Mariona Dalmases Guy L. Whitworth Miguel Dosil Andreas Othonos Sotirios Christodoulou Shanti Maria Liga Gerasimos Konstantatos |
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Affiliation: | 1. ICFO, Institut de Ciències Fotòniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Castelldefels, Barcelona, 08860 Spain;2. Laboratory of Ultrafast Science, Department of Physics, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, 1678 Cyprus;3. Inorganic Nanocrystals Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, 1678 Cyprus |
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Abstract: | The use of colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) as a gain medium in infrared laser devices has been underpinned by the need for high pumping intensities, very short gain lifetimes, and low gain coefficients. Here, PbS/PbSSe core/alloyed-shell CQDs are employed as an infrared gain medium that results in highly suppressed Auger recombination with a lifetime of 485 ps, lowering the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) threshold down to 300 µJ cm−2, and showing a record high net modal gain coefficient of 2180 cm−1. By doping these engineered core/shell CQDs up to nearly filling the first excited state, a significant reduction of optical gain threshold is demonstrated, measured by transient absorption, to an average-exciton population-per-dot 〈Nth〉g of 0.45 due to bleaching of the ground state absorption. This in turn have led to a fivefold reduction in ASE threshold at 〈Nth〉ASE = 0.70 excitons-per-dot, associated with a gain lifetime of 280 ps. Finally, these heterostructured QDs are used to achieve near-infrared lasing at 1670 nm at a pump fluences corresponding to sub-single-exciton-per-dot threshold (〈Nth〉Las = 0.87). This work brings infrared CQD lasing thresholds on par to their visible counterparts, and paves the way toward solution-processed infrared laser diodes. |
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Keywords: | Auger recombination core–shell quantum dots doping infrared lasers |
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