Electrically driven heterogeneous III-V/Si photonic crystal surface-emitting laser

Area of Science:

• Optoelectronics
• Materials Science
• Photonics

Background:

• Silicon photonics requires efficient on-chip light sources.
• Heterogeneous integration offers a pathway to combine optical gain with silicon functionalities.
• Photonic-crystal surface-emitting lasers (PCSELs) provide mode selectivity and beam quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a C-band electrically driven PCSEL using III-V/Si heterogeneous integration.
• To investigate the performance characteristics of such a device under pulsed and continuous-wave operation.
• To assess the potential of this technology for silicon photonics applications.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a PCSEL by heterogeneous integration of InP-based gain material onto a silicon substrate with a 2D photonic crystal (PhC).
• Characterization of the device under pulsed and continuous-wave (CW) electrical injection.
• Temperature-dependent measurements to evaluate thermal effects on laser performance.

Main Results:

• Achieved a low threshold current of 64 mA under pulsed injection.
• Demonstrated peak output power exceeding 100 mW under pulsed operation.
• Observed single-mode lasing in CW operation starting at 55 mA with up to 3 mW output at 5°C.
• Highlighted the significant impact of thermal effects on device performance.

Conclusions:

• Successfully demonstrated a C-band electrically driven heterogeneous PCSEL.
• The device exhibits promising low threshold and high output power, suitable for on-chip applications.
• This heterogeneous integration approach holds potential for developing compact light sources for silicon photonics.