Design and fabrication of a hybrid plasmonic silicon-based ZnO nanowire laser with Ag nanoparticles

The employ of photons as carriers of information has accelerated the progression toward the miniaturization of electronic devices, sparking a transformative trend in technology. There exists a pressing requirement for the advancement of nanolasers that feature miniaturization, high-speed transmission, low threshold operation, and low energy loss. In this study, we developed a hybrid plasmonic nanolaser through a silicon (Si) substrate, a metallic layer, a dielectric layer, and nanowires. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were used as the metal component to generate surface plasmons, which effectively shorten the wavelength and enhance light absorption capabilities. The incorporation of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires, recognized for their superior optical properties, further optimized the optical performance of the nanolaser. We have studied the device characteristics and successfully fabricated a room-temperature hybrid plasmonic ZnO nanowire laser with Ag NPs. Compared with devices without Ag NPs, it achieved a low threshold gain of 0.3355 µm^-1, high fluorescence emission intensity of 2476 arbitrary units (a.u.), strong light absorption rate of 0.596, and high luminescence intensity of 1290.8 a.u. This study establishes a theoretical and experimental basis for developing miniaturized nanolasers with low operational thresholds.