  Rare-earth based lasing action in GaN semiconductor at the telecommunication
wavelength of 1.5 micron has been demonstrated at room temperature. We have
reported the stimulated emission under the above bandgap excitation from Er
doped GaN epilayers prepared by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Using
the variable stripe technique, the observation of the stimulated emission has
been demonstrated through characteristic features of threshold behavior of
emission intensity as functions of pump intensity, excitation length, and
spectral linewidth narrowing. Using the variable stripe setup, the optical gain
up to 75 cm-1 has been obtained in the GaN:Er epilayers. The near infrared
lasing from GaN semiconductor opens up new possibilities for extended
functionalities and integration capabilities for optoelectronic devices.
