Silicon does not emit light efficiently, therefore the integration of other light-emitting materials is highly demanded for silicon photonic integrated circuits. A number of integration approaches have been extensively explored in the past decade. Here, the most recent progress in this field is reviewed, covering the integration approaches of III-V-to-silicon bonding, transfer printing, epitaxial growth and the use of colloidal quantum dots. The basic approaches to create waveguide-coupled on-chip light sources for different application scenarios are discussed, both for silicon and silicon nitride based waveguides. A selection of recent representative device demonstrations is presented, including high speed DFB lasers, ultra-dense comb lasers, short (850nm) and long (2.3μm) wavelength lasers, wide-band LEDs, monolithic O-band lasers and micro-disk lasers operating in the visible. The challenges and opportunities of these approaches are discussed.
Abstract:In the paper, we review our work on heterogeneous III-V-on-silicon photonic components and circuits for applications in optical communication and sensing. We elaborate on the integration strategy and describe a broad range of devices realized on this platform covering a wavelength range from 850 nm to 3.85 μm.
Silicon photonics (SiPh) enables compact photonic integrated circuits (PICs), showing superior performance for a wide variety of applications. Various optical functions have been demonstrated on this platform that allows for complex and powerful PICs. Nevertheless, laser source integration technologies are not yet as mature, hampering the further cost reduction of the eventual Si photonic systems-on-chip and impeding the expansion of this platform to a broader range of applications. Here, we discuss a promising technology, micro-transfer-printing (μTP), for the realization of III-V-on-Si PICs. By employing a polydimethylsiloxane elastomeric stamp, the integration of III-V devices can be realized in a massively parallel manner on a wafer without substantial modifications to the SiPh process flow, leading to a significant cost reduction of the resulting III-V-on-Si PICs. This paper summarizes some of the recent developments in the use of μTP technology for realizing the integration of III-V photodiodes and lasers on Si PICs.
The micro-transfer-printing of prefabricated C-band semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) on a silicon waveguide circuit is reported. The SOAs are 1.35 mm in length and 40 µm in width. Dense arrays of III-V SOAs are fabricated on the source InP wafer. These can then be micro-transfer-printed on the target SOI photonic circuits in a massively parallel fashion. Additionally, this approach allows for greater flexibility in terms of integrating different epitaxial layer structures on the same SOI waveguide circuit. The technique allows integrating SOAs on a complex silicon photonic circuit platform without changing the foundry process-flow. Two different SOA designs with different optical confinement factor in the quantum wells of the III-V waveguide are discussed. This allows tuning the small-signal gain and output saturation power of the SOA. The design with higher optical confinement in the quantum wells has a small-signal gain of up to 23 dB and an on-chip saturation power of 9.2 mW at 140 mA bias current and the lower optical confinement factor design has a small-signal gain of 17 dB and power saturation of 15 mW at 160 mA of bias current.
Abstract:We demonstrate a short-wavelength hybrid-cavity vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) heterogeneously integrated on silicon. A GaAs-based "half-VCSEL" has been attached to a dielectric distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) on a silicon wafer using ultra-thin divinylsiloxanebis-benzocyclobutene (DVS-BCB) adhesive bonding, thereby creating a cavity with the standing-wave optical field extending over the silicon-and GaAs-based parts of the cavity. A 9 µm oxide aperture diameter VCSEL with a threshold current of 1.2 mA produces 1.6 mW optical output power at 6.0 mA bias current with a wavelength of ~845 nm.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.