Room-temperature InP distributed feedback laser array directly grown on silicon

By Zhechao Wang, B. Tian, Marianna Pantouvaki, Weiming Guo, Philippe P. Absil, J. Van Campenhout, C. Merckling, D. van Thourhout. Nature Photonics, 2015

333 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Fully exploiting the silicon photonics platform for large-volume, cost-sensitive applications requires a fundamentally new approach to directly integrate high-performance laser sources using wafer-scale fabrication methods. Direct-bandgap III–V semiconductors allow efficient light generation, but the large mismatch in lattice constant, thermal expansion and crystal polarity makes their epitaxial growth directly on silicon extremely complex. Using a selective-area growth technique in confined regions, we surpass this fundamental limit and demonstrate an optically pumped InP-based distributed feedback laser array monolithically grown on (001)-silicon operating at room temperature and suitable for wavelength-division-multiplexing applications. The novel epitaxial technology suppresses threading dislocations and anti-phase boundaries to a less than 20-nm-thick layer, which does not affect device performance. Using an in-plane laser cavity defined using standard top-down lithographic patterning together with a high yield and high uniformity provides scalability and a straightforward path towards cost-effective co-integration with silicon photonic and electronic circuits. Scientists demonstrate an optically pumped InP-based distributed feedback laser array monolithically grown on (001)-silicon operating at room temperature that is suitable for wavelength-division multiplexing applications.

Subfields: Artificial Intelligence, Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics, Electrical and Electronic Engineering

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/f8dc5c78de971126f97147d788209da767127df7

Citations in the corpus

• Taking silicon photonics modulators to a higher performance level: state-of-the-art and a review of new technologies (2021, unknown): “Demonstrations of epitaxial growth of III–Von Si have also been reported despite the large lattice mismatch between Si and III–V (for example, InP has 8% lattice mismatch with Si).(278,279) The integration of III–V on silicon also provides a route for the implementation of efficient high-speed modul”
• Epitaxial growth of highly mismatched III-V materials on (001) silicon for electronics and optoelectronics (2017, unknown): “17(e) schematically depicts the fabrication of an InP distributed feedback laser array on Si using the selective-area growth technique in confined regions and top-down lithographic patterning [131].”