Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 30, 2025
07:42
Rapid Repetition Rate Fluctuation Measurement of Soliton Crystals in a Microresonator
Published on: December 15, 2021
3.3K
Laser soliton microcombs heterogeneously integrated on silicon
Chao Xiang1, Junqiu Liu2, Joel Guo1
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|July 2, 2021
Summary
We developed integrated silicon photonic laser soliton microcombs using InP/Si lasers and Si3N4 microresonators. This enables mass production of chip-based frequency combs for high-capacity communication systems.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Optical Engineering
- Materials Science
- Semiconductor Device Physics
Background:
- Silicon photonics allows on-chip integration of optical functions.
- Integrated laser frequency combs are crucial for advanced optical systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate heterogeneously integrated laser soliton microcombs on a silicon platform.
- To enable large-volume, low-cost manufacturing of chip-based frequency combs.
Main Methods:
- Combining indium phosphide/silicon (InP/Si) semiconductor lasers with silicon nitride (Si3N4) microresonators on a silicon substrate.
- Utilizing complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible fabrication techniques.
- Implementing on-chip electrical control for laser-microresonator relative optical phase.
Main Results:
- Successful integration of InP/Si lasers and Si3N4 microresonators for soliton microcomb generation.
- Achieved a 100-gigahertz repetition rate for single-soliton microcombs.
- Observed laser frequency noise reduction via self-injection locking.
Conclusions:
- The developed approach facilitates mass production of narrow-linewidth, chip-based frequency combs.
- These integrated microcombs are suitable for next-generation high-capacity transceivers, data centers, and mobile platforms.
