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Because surface plasmons can be confined below the diffraction limit,metallic lasers that support plasmonic modes can provide miniaturized sourcesof electromagnetic waves. Such devices often exploit a multilayer design, inwhich a semiconductor gain layer is placed near a metallic interface with a gaplayer in between. However, despite many experimental demonstrations, keyconsiderations for these planar metallic lasers remain understudied, leading toincorrect conclusions about the optimal design. Here, we pursue a detailedexperimental and theoretical study of planar metallic lasers to explore theeffect of design parameters on the lasing behavior. We print semiconductornanoplatelets as a gain layer of controllable thickness onto alumina-coatedsilver films with integrated planar Fabry-P\'erot cavities. Lasing behavior isthen monitored with spectrally and polarization-resolved far-field imaging. Theresults are compared with a theoretical waveguide model and a detailedrate-equation model, which consider both plasmonic and photonic modes. We showthat the nature of the lasing mode is dictated by the gain-layer thickness.Moreover, by explicitly treating gain in our waveguide model, we find that,contrary to conventional wisdom, a gap layer with high refractive index isadvantageous for plasmonic lasing. Additionally, our rate-equation modelreveals a regime where plasmonic and photonic modes compete within the samedevice, raising the possibility of facile, active mode switching. Thesefindings provide guidance for future designs of metallic lasers and could leadto on-chip lasers with controlled photonic and plasmonic output, switchable athigh speeds.

Reconsidering the design of planar plasmonic lasers: gain, gap layers, and mode competition