Plasmonic-waveguide lasers, which exhibit subdiffraction limit lasing and light propagation, are promising for the next-generation of nanophotonic devices in computation, communication, and biosensing. Plasmonic lasers supporting waveguide modes are often based on nanowires grown with bottom-up techniques that need to be transferred and aligned for use in optical circuits. Here, we demonstrate a monolithically fabricated ZnO/Al plasmonic-waveguide nanolaser compatible with the fabrication requirements of on-chip circuits. The nanolaser is designed with a plasmonic metal layer on the top of the laser cavity only, providing highly efficient energy transfer between photons, excitons, and plasmons, and achieving lasing in the ultraviolet region up to 330 K with a low threshold intensity (0.20 mJ/cm2 at room temperature). This work demonstrates the realization of a plasmonic-waveguide nanolaser without the need for transfer and positioning steps, which is the key for on-chip integration of nanophotonic devices.
Keywords: Nanolaser; ZnO; aluminum; plasmonic laser; plasmonic waveguide.