Novel integration technique for silicon/III-V hybrid laser.

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering

Background:

• Silicon photonic integrated circuits are essential for high-bandwidth optical communications.
• Integrating III-V gain media with silicon waveguides is challenging but crucial for device performance.
• Existing integration methods face constraints in processing parameters.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate a novel fabrication technique for integrated semiconductor lasers on silicon.
• To enable flexible and efficient light coupling between III-V gain media and silicon waveguides.
• To overcome limitations of current integration approaches, particularly concerning silicon layer thickness.

Main Methods:

• Developed a novel fabrication technique involving epitaxial growth of silicon in a pre-defined trench with taper structures.
• Designed an associated transition structure for seamless integration.
• Fabricated a long-cavity hybrid laser utilizing the proposed method.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated integrated lasers on silicon using the novel technique.
• Demonstrated a long-cavity hybrid laser with a narrow linewidth of 130 kHz.
• Achieved an output power of 1.5 mW from the fabricated laser.

Conclusions:

• The proposed fabrication technique offers a flexible and efficient approach for realizing integrated lasers on silicon.
• This method overcomes critical processing constraints, paving the way for cost-effective silicon photonic integrated circuits.
• The demonstrated hybrid laser performance highlights the potential of this technique for advanced optical interconnects.