Epitaxy

Ultraviolet

Materials science

Layer (electronics)

Gallium nitride

Distributed Bragg reflector

Semiconductor

Wavelength

Blue laser

Substrate (aquarium)

Diode

Geology

Oceanography

Photonics

Laser

Physics

Nanotechnology

Optics

Semiconductor laser theory

Light-emitting diode

Optoelectronics

Science Advances

Surface-emitting semiconductor lasers have been widely used in data communications, sensing, and recently in Face ID and augmented reality glasses. Here, we report the first achievement of an all-epitaxial, distributed Bragg reflector (DBR)-free electrically injected surface-emitting green laser by exploiting the photonic band edge modes formed in dislocation-free gallium nitride nanocrystal arrays, instead of using conventional DBRs. The device operates at ~523 nm and exhibits a threshold current of ~400 A/cm2, which is over one order of magnitude lower compared to previously reported blue laser diodes. Our studies open a new paradigm for developing low-threshold surface-emitting laser diodes from the ultraviolet to the deep visible (~200 to 600 nm), wherein the device performance is no longer limited by the lack of high-quality DBRs, large lattice mismatch, and substrate availability.

An electrically pumped surface-emitting semiconductor green laser