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Narrow-linewidth photonic wirebonded silicon nitride external cavity tunable laser
David A S Heim1, Gar-Wing Truong2, Debapam Bose1
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
Scientific Reports
|May 1, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed a new 3D-printed photonic wire bonding (PWB) method for integrating tunable lasers with silicon nitride. This innovation significantly reduces linewidth, enabling more precise quantum sensing and optical clock applications.
Area of Science:
- Photonics
- Quantum Engineering
- Materials Science
Background:
- Ultra-low linewidth tunable lasers are crucial for precision applications like quantum sensing and metrology.
- Integrating these lasers onto a CMOS-compatible platform with silicon nitride (Si3N4) is key for on-chip solutions.
- Current co-integration methods face challenges with alignment tolerances and mode matching.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate a novel hybrid integration technique for tunable lasers using 3D-printed photonic wire bonding (PWB).
- To achieve ultra-low linewidth and wide tunability in a PWB-integrated silicon nitride external cavity tunable laser (ECTL).
- To establish PWB as a manufacturable and reliable pathway for precision photonic systems.
Main Methods:
- Utilized 3D-printed photonic wire bonding (PWB) for hybrid integration of III-V gain material with Si3N4 tunable cavities.
- Fabricated and characterized a PWB-integrated Si3N4 external cavity tunable laser (ECTL).
- Measured fundamental and integral linewidths across a 60 nm tuning range.
Main Results:
- Achieved a fundamental linewidth as low as 3.75-7.77 Hz, a reduction of nearly three orders of magnitude compared to previous PWB-integrated ECTLs.
- Demonstrated a 60 nm tuning range with a 1.27 kHz integral linewidth.
- Validated PWB as a robust method overcoming alignment tolerances and mode mismatches.
Conclusions:
- 3D-printed photonic wire bonding enables high-performance, low-linewidth tunable lasers integrated on-chip.
- This approach offers a scalable, cost-effective solution for advanced photonic systems.
- PWB integration paves the way for portable quantum technologies, low-noise microwave systems, and enhanced sensing.
