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Abstract On-chip integrated laser sources of structured light carrying fractional orbital angular momentum (FOAM) are highly desirable for the forefront development of optical communication and quantum information–processing technologies. While integrated vortex beam generators have been previously demonstrated in different optical settings, ultrafast control and sweep of FOAM light with low-power control, suitable for high-speed optical communication and computing, remains challenging. Here we demonstrate fast control of the FOAM from a vortex semiconductor microlaser based on fast transient mixing of integer laser vorticities induced by a control pulse. A continuous FOAM sweep between charge 0 and charge +2 is demonstrated in a 100 ps time window, with the ultimate speed limit being established by the carrier recombination time in the gain medium. Our results provide a new route to generating vortex microlasers carrying FOAM that are switchable at GHz frequencies by an ultrafast control pulse.
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Ultrafast control of vortex microlasers
The development of classical and quantum information–processing technology calls for on-chip integrated sources of structured light. Although integrated vortex microlasers have been previously demonstrated, they remain static and possess relatively high lasing thresholds, making them unsuitable for high-speed optical communication and computing. We introduce perovskite-based vortex microlasers and demonstrate their application to ultrafast all-optical switching at room temperature. By exploiting both mode symmetry and far-field properties, we reveal that the vortex beam lasing can be switched to linearly polarized beam lasing, or vice versa, with switching times of 1 to 1.5 picoseconds and energy consumption that is orders of magnitude lower than in previously demonstrated all-optical switching. Our results provide an approach that breaks the long-standing trade-off between low energy consumption and high-speed nanophotonics, introducing vortex microlasers that are switchable at terahertz frequencies.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1847240
- PAR ID:
- 10136712
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Science
- Volume:
- 367
- Issue:
- 6481
- ISSN:
- 0036-8075
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 1018-1021
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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