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Fabrication of Silica Ultra High Quality Factor Microresonators
Published on: July 2, 2012
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Ultra-compact InGaAs/GaAs nano-ridge laser monolithically grown on 300 mm silicon substrate.
Optics Letters
|April 1, 2025
Summary
Researchers developed ultra-compact semiconductor lasers for silicon photonics. A novel approach using amorphous silicon gratings enables lasing in devices as small as 16 micrometers.
Area of Science:
- Photonics
- Materials Science
- Semiconductor Physics
Background:
- III-V semiconductor lasers are ideal light sources for silicon photonics due to their small size and low energy use.
- Integrating III-V materials with silicon is challenging due to lattice mismatch.
- Previous efforts required long cavity lengths (hundreds of micrometers) for laser operation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To overcome the challenge of integrating III-V lasers onto silicon.
- To develop a novel method for achieving laser operation with significantly shorter cavity lengths.
- To enable ultra-compact, high-performance lasers for silicon photonic integrated circuits.
Main Methods:
- Utilized aspect ratio trapping and nano-ridge engineering.
- Developed a novel approach involving amorphous silicon gratings deposited on nano-ridge sidewalls.
- Achieved pulsed optical pumping for laser characterization.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated lasing in a 16 micrometer cavity device with a threshold density of 9.9 kW/cm².
- Achieved a side-mode suppression ratio of 24 dB and a linewidth of 1.25 nm at 25 kW/cm².
- Showcased the high quality of the epitaxial material.
Conclusions:
- The novel amorphous silicon grating approach enables much stronger feedback and shorter cavity lengths.
- This method establishes a new pathway for realizing ultra-compact lasers on silicon.
- The findings pave the way for high-density, scalable silicon photonic integrated circuits.
