Simultaneous Two-Color Lasing in a Single CdSSe Heterostructure Nanosheet

The ability of a single monolithic semiconductor structure to emit or lase in a broad spectrum range is of great importance for many applications such as solid-state lighting and multi-spectrum detection. But spectral range of a laser or light-emitting diode made of a given semiconductor is typically limited by its emission or gain bandwidth. Due to lattice mismatch, it is typically difficult to grow thin film or bulk materials with very different bandgaps in a monolithic fashion. But nanomaterials such as nanowires, nanobelts, nanosheets provide a unique opportunity. Here we report our experimental results demonstrating simultaneous lasing in two visible colors at 526 and 623 nm from a single CdSSe heterostructure nanosheet at room temperature. The 97 nm wavelength separation of the two colors is significantly larger than the gain bandwidth of a typical single II-VI semiconductor material. Such lasing and light emission in a wide spectrum range from a single monolithic structure will have important applications mentioned above.