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Eric Frayssinet

Publications and source records attributed to Eric Frayssinet.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

Electrically-injected room-temperature waveguide polariton laser

Exciton-polariton lasers are coherent light sources which do not require the population inversion (transparency) condition to be fulfilled. They have been conceptualized at the end of the XXth century but until now they operate almost exclusively under optical injection, which severely limits the widespread integration of the polariton-based devices implemented so far. Here we tackle this issue by reporting an electrically-pumped exciton-polariton laser based on GaN and operating at room temperature in a mode-locked regime. The laser architecture is close to the geometry of commercial ridge-waveguide GaN lasers, but based on a bulk GaN active region instead of quantum wells. Unique features of polariton lasers are demonstrated, in particular the breakdown of the transparency condition, which enables our polariton lasers to operate even when only a small fraction (20\%) of the cavity length is injected. Moreover, the large polaritonic gain allows for the operation of a short cavity length (60$\mu m$) compared to commercial lasers. From the very same sample, we also achieve polariton lasing under optical injection, confirming that the doped layers necessary for electrical injection do not prevent strong-coupling nor polariton lasing. Our results open a new perspective for polariton-based devices.

physics.optics

Current transport in Ni Schottky barrier on GaN epilayer grown on free standing substrates

In this paper, the Ni Schottky barrier on GaN epilayer grown on free standing substrates has been characterized. First, transmission electrical microscopy (TEM) images and nanoscale electrical analysis by conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) of the bare material allowed visualizing structural defects in the crystal, as well as local inhomogeneities of the current conduction. The forward current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of Ni/GaN vertical Schottky diodes fabricated on the epilayer gave average values of the Schottky barrier height of 0.79 eV and ideality factor of 1.14. A statistical analysis over a set of diodes, combined with temperature dependence measurements, confirmed the formation of an inhomogeneous Schottky barrier in this material. From a plot of FB versus n, an ideal homogeneous barrier close to 0.9 eV was estimated, similar to that extrapolated by capacitance-voltage (C-V) analysis. Local I-V curves, acquired by means of C-AFM, displayed the inhomogeneous distribution of the onset of current conduction, which in turn resembles the one observed in the macroscopic Schottky diodes. Finally, the reverse characteristic of the diodes fabricated in the defects-free region have been acquired at different temperature and its behaviour has been described by the thermionic field emission (TFE) model.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

A 5.7 THz GaN/AlGaN quantum cascade detector based on polar step quantum wells

We report on a GaN/AlGaN quantum cascade detector operating in the terahertz spectral range. The device was grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition on a c-sapphire substrate and relies on polar GaN/AlGaN step quantum wells. The active region thickness is in micrometer range. The structural, electrical and optical investigations attest of high structural quality of the synthetized nitride material. The detector exhibits a peak photocurrent at 5.7 THz (23.6 meV) with a responsivity of 0.1 mA/W at 10 K under surface normal irradiation through a 10 um period grating. The photocurrent persists up to 20 K.

physics.optics

Analysis of low-threshold optically pumped III-nitride microdisk lasers

Low-threshold lasing under pulsed optical pumping is demonstrated at room temperature for III-nitride microdisks with InGaN/GaN quantum wells on Si in the blue spectral range. Thresholds in the range of 18 kW/cm2 have been achieved along with narrow linewidths of 0.07 nm and a large peak to background dynamic of 300. We compare this threshold range with the one that can be calculated using a rate equation model. We show that thresholds in the few kW/cm2 range constitute the best that can be achieved with III-nitride quantum wells at room temperature. The sensitivity of lasing on the fabrication process is also discussed.

physics.app-ph

Monolithic integration of ultraviolet microdisk lasers into photonic circuits in a III-nitride-on-silicon platform

Ultraviolet microdisk lasers are integrated monolithically into photonic circuits using a III-nitride on silicon platform with gallium nitride (GaN) as the main waveguiding layer. The photonic circuits consist of a microdisk and a pulley waveguide terminated by out-coupling gratings. We measure quality factors up to 3500 under continuous-wave excitation. Lasing is observed from 374 nm to 399 nm under pulsed excitation, achieving low threshold energies of $0.14 ~\text{mJ/cm}^2$ per pulse (threshold peak powers of $35 ~\text{kW/cm}^2$). A large peak to background dynamic of around 200 is observed at the out-coupling grating for small gaps of 50 nm between the disk and waveguide. These devices operate at the limit of what can be achieved with GaN in terms of operation wavelength.

physics.app-ph

Demonstration of critical coupling in an active III-nitride microdisk photonic circuit on silicon

On-chip microlaser sources in the blue constitute an important building block for complex integrated photonic circuits on silicon. We have developed photonic circuits operating in the blue spectral range based on microdisks and bus waveguides in III-nitride on silicon. We report on the interplay between microdisk-waveguide coupling and its optical properties. We observe critical coupling and phase matching, i.e. the most efficient energy transfer scheme, for very short gap sizes and thin waveguides (g = 45 nm and w = 170 nm) in the spontaneous emission regime. Whispering gallery mode lasing is demonstrated for a wide range of parameters with a strong dependence of the threshold on the loaded quality factor. We show the dependence and high sensitivity of the output signal on the coupling. Lastly, we observe the impact of processing on the tuning of mode resonances due to the very short coupling distances. Such small footprint on-chip integrated microlasers providing maximum energy transfer into a photonic circuit have important potential applications for visible-light communication and lab-on-chip bio-sensors.

physics.app-ph

Blue Microlasers Integrated on a Photonic Platform on Silicon

The main interest of group-III-nitride nanophotonic circuits is the integration of active structures and laser sources. A photonic platform of group-III-nitride microdisk lasers integrated on silicon and emitting in the blue spectral range is demonstrated. The active microdisks are side-coupled to suspended bus waveguides, and the coupled emission is guided and outcoupled to free space using grating couplers. A small gap size of less than 100 nm between the disk and the waveguide is required in the blue spectral range for optimal evanescent coupling. To avoid reabsorption of the microdisk emission in the waveguide, the quantum wells are etched away from the waveguide. Under continuous-wave excitation, loaded quality factors greater than 2000 are observed for the whispering gallery modes for devices with small gaps and large waveguide bending angles. Under pulsed excitation conditions, lasing is evidenced for 3 $μ$m diameter microdisks integrated in a full photonic circuit. We thus present a first demonstration of a III-nitride microlaser coupled to a nanophotonic circuit.

physics.app-ph

III-nitride on silicon electrically injected microrings for nanophotonic circuits

Nanophotonic circuits using group III-nitrides on silicon are still lacking one key component: efficient electrical injection. In this paper we demonstrate an electrical injection scheme using a metal microbridge contact in thin III-nitride on silicon mushroom-type microrings that is compatible with integrated nanophotonic circuits with the goal of achieving electrically injected lasing. Using a central buried n-contact to bypass the insulating buffer layers, we are able to underetch the microring, which is essential for maintaining vertical confinement in a thin disk. We demonstrate direct current room-temperature electroluminescence with 440 mW/cm$^2$ output power density at 20 mA from such microrings with diameters of 30 to 50 $μ$m. The first steps towards achieving an integrated photonic circuit are demonstrated.

physics.app-ph

GaN Schottky diodes for proton beam monitoring

We have demonstrated that GaN Schottky diodes can be used for high energy (64.8 MeV) proton detection. Such proton beams are used for tumor treatment, for which accurate and radiation resistant detectors are needed. Schottky diodes have been measured to be highly sensitive to protons, to have a linear response with beam intensity and fast enough for the application. Some photoconductive gain was found in the diode leading to a good compromise between responsivity and response time. The imaging capability of GaN diodes in proton detection is also demonstrated.

physics.ins-det

Relaxation and emission of Bragg-mode and cavity-mode polaritons in a ZnO microcavity at room temperature

The strong coupling regime in a ZnO microcavity is investigated through room temperature photoluminescence and reflectivity experiments. The simultaneous strong coupling of excitons to the cavity mode and the first Bragg mode is demonstrated at room temperature. The polariton relaxation is followed as a function of the excitation density. A relaxation bottleneck is evidenced in the Bragg-mode polariton branch. It is partly broken under strong excitation density, so that the emission from this branch dominates the one from cavity-mode polaritons.

cond-mat.other

Experimental observation of strong light-matter coupling in ZnO microcavities: influence of large excitonic absorption

We present experimental observation of the strong light-matter coupling regime in ZnO bulk microcavities grown on silicon. Angle resolved reflectivity measurements, corroborated by transfer-matrix simulations, show that Rabi splittings in the order of 70 meV are achieved even for low finesse cavities. The impact of the large excitonic absorption, which enables a ZnO bulk-like behavior to be observed even in the strong coupling regime, is illustrated both experimentally and theoretically by considering cavities with increasing thickness.

cond-mat.other