Semiconductor Spin-Lasers

目的：发展注入自旋极化载流子的半导体自旋激光器的理论框架，并评估它们如何超越传统的(自旋非极化)半导体自旋激光器。智能优点：实用的自旋电子器件在磁存储和传感方面取得了显著的成功，但在高级信号处理和数字逻辑方面的应用仍然有限。这一提议将探索基于自旋的应用的替代实现，受到自旋激光实验突破的刺激：降低激光阈值和对发射光进行强烈调制，即使在固定注入强度下也是如此。该提案将研究如何利用这些原理来实现卓越的动态性能，包括增强带宽、减少啁啾、超快切换，并通过探索新的器件概念和几何结构为未来的实验工作提供指导。通过发展理论和建模技术，从速率和漂移扩散方程到严格的微观描述，也将有可能促进对传统激光器的理解。这一提议可以产生变革性的效果，自旋激光将实现安全通信、高带宽互连和降低功耗。更广泛的影响：来自布法罗的大多数公立学校的学生没有接触过物理科学，这使得他们不敢考虑在科学和工程领域就业。为了解决这一关切，国际和平研究所将组织夏季讲习班(激光：理论和实验)，重点是代表人数不足的群体的参与。在与J.Fabian(U.Regensburg)继续合作的推动下，将完成一本关于自旋电子学的教科书，以解决自旋电子学缺乏适当资源的问题，并提供可在许多不同课程中定制的结构化材料。

Objective: Development of the theoretical framework for semiconductor spin-lasers, injected with spin-polarized carriers, and evaluation of how they can outperform their conventional (spin-unpolarized) counterparts. Intellectual Merit: Practical spintronic devices have shown a remarkable success for magnetic storage and sensing, but remain of limited use for advanced signal processing and digital logic. This proposal will explore alternative realizations of spin-based applications, stimulated by the experimental breakthroughs in spin-lasers: lasing threshold reduction and strong modulation of the emitted light, even at fixed injection intensity. The proposal will study how these principles can be utilized to: enable superior dynamical performance including enhanced bandwidth, chirp reduction, ultrafast switching, and provide guidance for future experimental efforts by exploring novel device concepts and geometries. By developing theoretical and modeling techniques, from rate and drift-diffusion equations to rigorous microscopic description, it will also be possible to advance the understanding of conventional lasers. This proposal can have a transformative effect, spin-lasers would enable secure communications, high-bandwidth interconnects, and reduced power-dissipation. Broader Impacts: The majority of public school students from Buffalo have no exposure to physical sciences that subsequently deters them from considering careers in science and engineering. To address this concern, the PI will organize summer workshops (Lasers: Theory and Experiment) focusing on the participation of underrepresented groups. A textbook on spintronics will be completed, facilitated by the continued collaboration with J. Fabian (U. Regensburg), to address the lack of suitable resources in spintronics and offer a structured material that can be tailored in many different course offerings.