Room-temperature continuous-wave indirect-bandgap transition lasing in an ultra-thin WS₂ disk

Small semiconductor lasers that can be integrated on a chip are essential for a wide range of optical applications, including optical computing, communication and sensing. Practical laser applications have only been developed with direct-bandgap materials because of a general belief that lasing action from indirect-bandgap materials is almost impossible. Here we report unexpected indirect-bandgap transition lasing in an ultra-thin WS₂ disk. We demonstrate that a 50-nm-thick WS₂ disk offers efficient optical gain and whispering gallery modes that are sufficient for lasing action. As a result, the WS₂ disk exhibits indirect transition lasing, even under continuous-wave excitation at room temperature. Our experimental results are in close agreement with theoretical modelling for phonon-assisted photon lasing. The results derived from external cavity-free ultra-thin WS₂ layers offer a new direction for van-der-Waals-material-based nanophotonics and introduce the possibility for optical devices based on indirect-bandgap materials.