Lasing behavior, gain property, and strong coupling effects in GaN-based vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

The optical properties of a GaN-based vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with two dielectric distributed Bragg reflectors were investigated under optically pumped operation. The laser emits blue-violet light at a wavelength of 414nm at room temperature with a high spontaneous emission coupling factor (β-factor) of 2 × 10^-2 and a linewidth of 0.25 nm. The optical gain was determined by the Hakki-Paoli method by measuring the photoluminescence spectra below threshold conditions. At room temperature, an optical gain of 2900 cm^-1 was obtained under threshold condition. The linewidth enhancement factor (a-factor) is estimated from the ratio of the wavelength and gain derivation with respect to the carrier density, and the α-factor at room temperature is estimated to be 2.8. Strong exciton-photon coupling in the microcavity was observed at room temperature. A 9meV Rabi splitting with 60% peak-to-valley contrast was determined from the photoluminescence measurements. Emission spectra showing the evolution of anticrossing behavior were also observed.