Design and simulation of an electrically pumped SPASER

In this investigation, a novel SPASER which uses a PIN junction to induce population inversion condition, is designed and simulated using SILVACO software. In the proposed structure, the active region is in the middle and different materials are used for p and n regions to form heterojunctions. This PIN junction is in contact with gold and is forward biased. Free space wavelength of oscillations is 1550 nm that is used in photonic devices, frequently. To form the resonance cavity, two high reflective mirrors are placed at the ends of the plasmonic waveguide. Applied forward voltage and absorption coefficient of the SPASER are 1.2V and −0.33 cm−1, respectively. Thus, the optical gain for a 50 μm cavity length is 1 cm−1. Moreover, the power consumption of the proposed device at these conditions is 1.2 mW. The output plasmonic power is 0.6 mW which yields 50% power efficiency. •Electrical pumping of the active region by a forward biased pn junction.•Integrated structure realizable by InGaAs/InP material system.•Using a hybrid plasmonic waveguide for the structure.•Power efficiency of 50%.