New record in optical gain and room-temperature nanolasers in multiple wavelengths in 2D ErOCl single crystals

Abstract

Erbium-based materials have long been recognized for their important telecom-band applications, yet their widespread adoption in integrated optoelectronics has been hindered by two fundamental limitations: the difficulty in achieving high erbium density without concentration quenching which leads to small optical gain in doped materials, and the difficulty in fabricating a practical device with single crystal nanowires that demonstrated high optical gain previously1,2. Here, we overcome these limitations by synthesizing 2D single crystal ErOCl that has an Er density of 1.75*1022 cm-3. The high-quality single crystal material significantly reduces the density-related quenching effect that dominates in randomly doped materials with high Er concentration. This results in a record optical gain coefficient over 1500 dB/cm at 1536 nm band, at least larger by an order of magnitude than the previous gain record in Er materials. Leveraging this exceptional gain medium, we demonstrate room-temperature continuous-wave lasing operation by integrating with a photonic crystal microcavity, achieving a record-low threshold of 7 {\mu}W with the most compact size of any Er-based lasers. Furthermore, the unique Stark splitting characteristics of ErOCl provide optical gain in three wavelength bands and lead to lasing in these wavelengths by engineering the cavity. This is the first time that optical gain has been shown in three different wavelength bands in Er materials, together with the smallest size of laser cavity, could have many important applications in on-chip sensing and optical communication.