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2026

Quasi‑periodic photonic crystal surface laser achieves room‑temperature emission.

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Traditional photonic crystal surface-emitting lasers (PCSELs) typically rely on periodically arranged photonic crystal patterns to control lasing; however, this fixed arrangement imposes limitations on device design. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign have taken a different approach: rather than enforcing a strictly periodic array, they introduced quasiperiodic structures and integrated them into the semiconductor material. Experimental results demonstrate that this novel quasiperiodic photonic crystal surface-emitting laser (QPCSEL) can emit laser light at room temperature, offering a new avenue for developing more versatile and thermally stable semiconductor lasers. The relevant research was published in the latest issue of Applied Physics Letters.

PCSEL is an advanced semiconductor laser that has attracted considerable attention over the past two decades and has demonstrated application potential in fields such as telecommunications and aerospace. However, in conventional PCSELs, photonic crystals are typically arranged with a fixed periodicity. While researchers can optimize the pattern for a specific application, altering the device’s optical properties often requires redesigning and fabricating a new set of photonic crystals with a different geometric structure.

In this study, the researchers drew on pattern‑design approaches from other fields—non‑repetitive designs with topological protection—and integrated them into the team’s previously developed “buried dielectric layer” fabrication platform. Conventional photonic crystals typically require etching microscopic holes into semiconductor materials, but this work takes a different approach: they first etch a silicon dioxide layer to define the desired pattern, then grow a semiconductor material epitaxially on top, effectively embedding the silica pattern within the device.

In this way, the originally periodically structured photonic crystal is transformed into a quasiperiodic architecture and embedded within the semiconductor. Experimental results demonstrate that this structure can achieve laser emission at room temperature.

Researchers state that the platform’s primary advantage lies in the high flexibility and uniformity of its embedded dielectric photonic crystal patterns. Photonic crystals need not be arranged in a fixed configuration; instead, researchers can design patterns with greater freedom, tailoring the refractive index distribution within the device to achieve desired laser characteristics. The team notes that conventional fabrication methods typically allow only a single structure to be produced at a time, whereas the new platform holds promise for integrating diverse structures on a single substrate, enabling the creation of lasers that are both more reliable and superior in performance.

Source: Science and Technology Daily

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