Interband Cascade Photonic Integrated Circuits on Native III-V Chip

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Integrated Optics
• Chemical Sensing

Background:

• Midwave infrared (MWIR) photonic integrated circuits (PICs) offer potential for advanced sensing applications.
• Interband cascade lasers (ICLs) and quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) are key components for MWIR optoelectronics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the construction of MWIR PICs on Gallium Antimonide (GaSb) substrates.
• To demonstrate the integration of lasers, detectors, and waveguides for on-chip chemical detection.
• To propose novel compact architectures for enhanced sensing capabilities.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of PICs on native GaSb substrates, integrating ICLs, detectors, and passive waveguides.
• Design of on-chip chemical detection systems utilizing evanescent coupling to ambient sample gases.
• Development of edge-emitting laser configurations for improved stability and reduced power consumption.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated feasibility of integrating active and passive optical elements on a single GaSb chip.
• Proposed compact architectures incorporating sensing waveguides and detectors within laser cavities.
• Introduced stable edge-emitting laser designs with potential for lower drive power.

Conclusions:

• ICL-based PICs on GaSb, and analogous QCL-based PICs on InP or III-V on silicon, can realize highly compact chemical sensors.
• Mature processing could enable mass production of hundreds of PICs per chip for inexpensive, singulated sensing devices.
• The proposed PICs pave the way for next-generation, low-cost, portable chemical analysis tools.