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Electrically pumped hybrid AlGaInAs-silicon evanescent laser
Optics Express
|June 17, 2009
Summary
Researchers developed an electrically pumped AlGaInAs-silicon evanescent laser for silicon photonics. This silicon waveguide laser achieves continuous-wave operation, enabling cost-effective, high-volume integration for photonic circuits.
Area of Science:
- * Integrated Photonics
- * Semiconductor Lasers
- * Materials Science
Background:
- * Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) on silicon require efficient, electrically pumped light sources.
- * Wafer bonding of III-V materials to silicon is a common but complex integration technique.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To demonstrate an electrically pumped AlGaInAs-silicon evanescent laser architecture.
- * To enable laser cavity definition solely by the silicon waveguide, simplifying fabrication.
Main Methods:
- * Wafer bonding of AlGaInAs (III-V material) to a silicon waveguide.
- * Fabrication of an evanescent laser where the silicon waveguide defines the laser cavity.
- * Characterization of laser performance under continuous-wave (c.w.) operation.
Main Results:
- * Achieved continuous-wave (c.w.) operation with a threshold current of 65 mA.
- * Maximum output power of 1.8 mW with a differential quantum efficiency of 12.7%.
- * Demonstrated operation up to 40 degrees C.
Conclusions:
- * The proposed architecture simplifies integration, allowing for hundreds of lasers per bonding step.
- * This approach is suitable for high-volume, low-cost silicon photonic integrated circuits.
- * The architecture can be adapted for other active silicon photonic devices like amplifiers, modulators, and photodetectors.
