Lowered threshold of polymer distributed feedback laser by hybridizing waveguide and surface-plasmon polariton modes

We report on lowering threshold of polymer distributed feedback (DFB) laser with metallic contact by hybridizing the waveguide (WG) and surface-plasmon polariton (SPP) modes. Compared with conventional DFB laser, the lasing threshold is dramatically lowered by more than 80% by the introduction of a silver film into the DFB structure. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the lowered lasing threshold is a result of hybrid mode induced DFB enhancement, of which the field is formed by the mutual coupling between WG and SPP modes.

► We report on lowering threshold of polymer DFB laser with metallic contact.
► The lasing threshold is dramatically lowered by 80% with the metallic contact.
► The lowered threshold is a result of the SPP-WG mode induced feedback enhancement.