Laser emission and photodetection in an InP/InGaAsP layer integrated on and coupled to a Silicon-on-Insulator waveguide circuit

Prospects and applications of on-chip lasers

Integrated silicon photonics has sparked a significant ramp-up of investment in both academia and industry as a scalable, power-efficient, and eco-friendly solution. At the heart of this platform is the light source, which in itself, has been the focus of research and development extensively. This paper sheds light and conveys our perspective on the current state-of-the-art in different aspects of application-driven on-chip silicon lasers. We tackle this from two perspectives: device-level and system-wide points of view. In the former, the different routes taken in integrating on-chip lasers are explored from different material systems to the chosen integration methodologies. Then, the discussion focus is shifted towards system-wide applications that show great prospects in incorporating photonic integrated circuits (PIC) with on-chip lasers and active devices, namely, optical communications and interconnects, optical phased array-based LiDAR, sensors for chemical and biological analysis, integrated quantum technologies, and finally, optical computing. By leveraging the myriad inherent attractive features of integrated silicon photonics, this paper aims to inspire further development in incorporating PICs with on-chip lasers in, but not limited to, these applications for substantial performance gains, green solutions, and mass production.

AlInGaAs Multiple Quantum Well-Integrated Device with Multifunction Light Emission/Detection and Electro-Optic Modulation in the Near-Infrared Range

A monolithic photonic chip with multifunctional light emission/detection and electro-optic modulation capabilities in the near-infrared range is proposed and realized on an InP-based wafer. Two identical AlInGaAs multiple quantum well (MQW) diodes operating independently as light emission/detection devices are fabricated using a two-step etching process on a single wafer and connected via a straight waveguide. The photocurrent induced in the MQW diode for the detection process is generated by the infrared light emitted by the MQW diode during the emission process and transmitted via the straight waveguide. The MQW diode has an electro-optic modulation characteristic, and its spectral responsivity exhibits a blueshift with an increasingly negative bias voltage under external infrared laser excitation. An on-chip communication test is conducted to study the potential applications of the proposed monolithic photonic chip for transmission of optical signals in the near-infrared range.

Electrically tunable polarizer based on graphene-loaded plasmonic cross antenna

The unique gate-voltage dependent optical properties of graphene make it a promising electrically-tunable plasmonic material. In this work, we proposed in situ control of the polarization of nanoantennas by combining plasmonic structures with an electrostatically tunable graphene monolayer. The tunable polarizer is designed based on an asymmetric cross nanoantenna comprising two orthogonal metallic dipoles sharing the same feed gap. Graphene monolayer is deposited on a Si/SiO₂ substrate, and inserted beneath the nanoantenna. Our modelling demonstrates that as the chemical potential is incremented up to 1 eV by electrostatic doping, resonant wavelength for the longer graphene-loaded dipole is blue shifted for 500 nm (~10% of the resonance) in the mid-infrared range, whereas the shorter dipole experiences much smaller influences due to the unique wavelength-dependent optical properties of graphene. In this way, the relative field amplitude and phase between the two dipole nanoantennas are electrically adjusted, and the polarization state of the reflected wave can be electrically tuned from the circular into near-linear states with the axial ratio changing over 8 dB. Our study thus confirms the strong light-graphene interaction with metallic nanostructures, and illuminates promises for high-speed electrically controllable optoelectronic devices.

Monolithic integration of InGaAs n-FETs and lasers on Ge substrate

We report the first monolithic integration of InGaAs channel field-effect transistors with InGaAs/GaAs multiple quantum wells (MQWs) lasers on a common platform, achieving a milestone in the path of enabling low power and high speed opto-electronic integrated circuits (OEICs). The III-V layers used for realizing transistors and lasers were grown epitaxially on the Ge substrate using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). A Si-CMOS compatible process was developed to realize InGaAs n-FETs with subthreshold swing SS of 93 mV/decade, I_ON/I_OFF ratio of more than 4 orders of magnitude with very low off-state leakage current, and a peak effective mobility of more than 2000 cm²/V·s. In addition, fabrication process uses a low overall processing temperature (≤ 400 °C) to maintain the high quality of the InGaAs/GaAs MQWs for the laser. Room temperature electrically-pumped lasers with a lasing wavelength of 1.03 µm and a linewidth of less than 1.7 nm were realized.

Vertical silicon waveguide coupler bent by ion implantation

We propose and demonstrate that vertically curved waveguides (VCWs) enable vertical coupling between silicon wire waveguides and optical fibers with low wavelength dependence and polarization dependence for wide telecommunication wavelength band light. To bend these VCWs, we implanted silicon ions into silicon wire cantilevers from the vertical direction. The internal stress distribution that was induced by ion implantation drove the bending force, and we achieved vertical bending of the waveguides, with curvature radii ranging from 3 to 25 μm. At a radius of curvature of 6 μm, we obtained a coupling loss of 3 dB using a lens fiber.

2 μm wavelength range InP-based type-II quantum well photodiodes heterogeneously integrated on silicon photonic integrated circuits

The heterogeneous integration of InP-based type-II quantum well photodiodes on silicon photonic integrated circuits for the 2 µm wavelength range is presented. A responsivity of 1.2 A/W at a wavelength of 2.32 µm and 0.6 A/W at 2.4 µm wavelength is demonstrated. The photodiodes have a dark current of 12 nA at -0.5 V at room temperature. The absorbing active region of the integrated photodiodes consists of six periods of a "W"-shaped quantum well, also allowing for laser integration on the same platform.

Nanoimprinted Hybrid Metal-Semiconductor Plasmonic Multilayers with Controlled Surface Nano Architecture for Applications in NIR Detectors

We present a proof of concept for tunable plasmon resonance frequencies in a core shell nano-architectured hybrid metal-semiconductor multilayer structure, with Ag as the active shell and ITO as the dielectric modulation media. Our method relies on the collective change in the dielectric function within the metal semiconductor interface to control the surface. Here we report fabrication and optical spectroscopy studies of large-area, nanostructured, hybrid silver and indium tin oxide (ITO) structures, with feature sizes below 100 nm and a controlled surface architecture. The optical and electrical properties of these core shell electrodes, including the surface plasmon frequency, can be tuned by suitably changing the order and thickness of the dielectric layers. By varying the dimensions of the nanopillars, the surface plasmon wavelength of the nanopillar Ag can be tuned from 650 to 690 nm. Adding layers of ITO to the structure further shifts the resonance wavelength toward the IR region and, depending on the sequence and thickness of the layers within the structure, we show that such structures can be applied in sensing devices including enhancing silicon as a photodetection material.

Extremely compact hybrid III-V/SOI lasers: design and fabrication approaches

In this manuscript we discuss state of the art hybrid integration techniques and III-V/Si active components with an emphasis on hybrid distributed feedback (DFB) lasers for telecom applications. We review our work on ultra-compact III-V/Si DFB lasers and further describe design considerations and challenges associated with electrically pumped hybrid lasers. We conclude with a perspective on DFB lasers with extremely small footprint, a direction for future research with potential applications to densely-packed optical interconnects.

Low-crosstalk Si arrayed waveguide grating with parabolic tapers

A silicon arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) with low channel crosstalk was demonstrated by using ultra-short parabolic tapers to connect the AWG's free propagation regions and single-mode waveguides. The tapers satisfied the requirements of low-loss mode conversion and lower channel crosstalk from the coupling of neighboring waveguides in the AWGs. In this work, three different tapers, including parabolic tapers, linear tapers, and exponential tapers, were theoretically analyzed and experimentally investigated for a comparison of their effects when implemented in AWGs. The experimental results showed that the AWG with parabolic tapers had a crosstalk improvement up to 7.1 dB compared with the others. Based on the advantages of parabolic tapers, a 400-GHz 8 × 8 cyclic AWG with 2.4 dB on-chip loss and -17.6~-25.1 dB crosstalk was fabricated using a simple one-step etching process. Its performance was comparable with that of existing AWGs with bi-level tapers, which require complicated two-step etching fabrication processes.

Preliminary investigation of an SOI-based arrayed waveguide grating demodulation integration microsystem

An arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) demodulation integration microsystem is investigated in this study. The system consists of a C-band on-chip LED, a 2 × 2 silicon nanowire-based coupler, a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) array, a 1 × 8 AWG, and a photoelectric detector array. The coupler and AWG are made from silicon-on-insulator wafers using electron beam exposure and response-coupled plasma technology. Experimental results show that the excess loss in the MMI coupler with a footprint of 6 × 100 μm² is 0.5423 dB. The 1 × 8 AWG with a footprint of 267 × 381 μm² and a waveguide width of 0.4 μm exhibits a central channel loss of −3.18 dB, insertion loss non-uniformity of −1.34 dB, and crosstalk level of −23.1 dB. The entire system is preliminarily tested. Wavelength measurement precision is observed to reach 0.001 nm. The wavelength sensitivity of each FBG is between 0.04 and 0.06 nm/dB.

High-coherence semiconductor lasers based on integral high-Q resonators in hybrid Si/III-V platforms

The semiconductor laser (SCL) is the principal light source powering the worldwide optical fiber network. The ever-increasing demand for data is causing the network to migrate to phase-coherent modulation formats, which place strict requirements on the temporal coherence of the light source that no longer can be met by current SCLs. This failure can be traced directly to the canonical laser design, in which photons are both generated and stored in the same, optically lossy, III-V material. This leads to an excessive and large amount of noisy spontaneous emission commingling with the laser mode, thereby degrading its coherence. High losses also decrease the amount of stored optical energy in the laser cavity, magnifying the effect of each individual spontaneous emission event on the phase of the laser field. Here, we propose a new design paradigm for the SCL. The keys to this paradigm are the deliberate removal of stored optical energy from the lossy III-V material by concentrating it in a passive, low-loss material and the incorporation of a very high-Q resonator as an integral (i.e., not externally coupled) part of the laser cavity. We demonstrate an SCL with a spectral linewidth of 18 kHz in the telecom band around 1.55 μm, achieved using a single-mode silicon resonator with Q of 10(6).

Demonstration of heterogeneous III-V/Si integration with a compact optical vertical interconnect access

Heterogeneous III-V/Si integration with a compact optical vertical interconnect access is fabricated and the light coupling efficiency between the III-V/Si waveguide and the silicon nanophotonic waveguide is characterized. The III-V semiconductor material is directly bonded to the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate and etched to form the III-V/Si waveguide for a higher light confinement in the active region. The compact optical vertical interconnect access is formed through tapering a III-V and an SOI layer in the same direction. The measured III-V/Si waveguide has a light coupling efficiency above ~90% to the silicon photonic layer with the tapering structure. This heterogeneous and light coupling structure can provide an efficient platform for photonic systems on chip, including passive and active devices.

Hybrid single quantum well InP/Si nanobeam lasers for silicon photonics

We report on a hybrid InP/Si photonic crystal nanobeam laser emitting at 1578 nm with a low threshold power of ~14.7 μW. Laser gain is provided from a single InAsP quantum well embedded in a 155 nm InP layer bonded on a standard silicon-on-insulator wafer. This miniaturized nanolaser, with an extremely small modal volume of 0.375(λ/n)(3), is a promising and efficient light source for silicon photonics.

Vertical integration of high-Q silicon nitride microresonators into silicon-on-insulator platform

We demonstrate a vertical integration of high-Q silicon nitride microresonators into the silicon-on-insulator platform for applications at the telecommunication wavelengths. Low-loss silicon nitride films with a thickness of 400 nm are successfully grown, enabling compact silicon nitride microresonators with ultra-high intrinsic Qs (~ 6 × 10(6) for 60 μm radius and ~ 2 × 10(7) for 240 μm radius). The coupling between the silicon nitride microresonator and the underneath silicon waveguide is based on evanescent coupling with silicon dioxide as buffer. Selective coupling to a desired radial mode of the silicon nitride microresonator is also achievable using a pulley coupling scheme. In this work, a 60-μm-radius silicon nitride microresonator has been successfully integrated into the silicon-on-insulator platform, showing a single-mode operation with an intrinsic Q of 2 × 10(6).

Broadband microwave photonic fully tunable filter using a single heterogeneously integrated III-V/SOI-microdisk-based phase shifter

A broadband microwave photonic phase shifter based on a single III-V microdisk resonator heterogeneously integrated on and coupled to a nanophotonic silicon-on-insulator waveguide is reported. The phase shift tunability is accomplished by modifying the effective index through carrier injection. A comprehensive semi-analytical model aiming at predicting its behavior is formulated and confirmed by measurements. Quasi-linear and continuously tunable 2π phase shifts at radiofrequencies greater than 18 GHz are experimentally demonstrated. The phase shifter performance is also evaluated when used as a key element in tunable filtering schemes. Distortion-free and wideband filtering responses with a tuning range of ~100% over the free spectral range are obtained.

Recent Progress in Silicon Photonics: A Review

With the increasing bandwidth requirement in computing and signal processing, the inherent limitations in metallic interconnection are seriously threatening the future of traditional IC industry. Silicon photonics can provide a low-cost approach to overcome the bottleneck of the high data rate transmission by replacing the original electronic integrated circuits with photonic integrated circuits. Although the commercial promise has not been realized, this perspective gives huge impetus to the development of silicon photonics these years. This paper provides an overview of the progress and the state of the art of each component in silicon photonics, including waveguides, filters, modulators, detectors, and lasers, mainly in the last five years.

Ce:YIG/Silicon-on-Insulator waveguide optical isolator realized by adhesive bonding

A waveguide optical isolator realized by adhesive bonding of a garnet die, containing a Ce:YIG magneto-optic layer, on a silicon-on-insulator waveguide circuit is demonstrated. The die was bonded on top of an asymmetric Mach-Zehnder interferometer using a 100nm thick DVS-BCB adhesive bonding layer. A static magnetic field applied perpendicular to the light propagation direction results in a non-reciprocal phase shift for the fundamental quasi-TM mode in the hybrid waveguide geometry. A maximum optical isolation of 25 dB is obtained.

On-chip optical interconnection by using integrated III-V laser diode and photodetector with silicon waveguide

On-chip integration of III-V laser diodes and photodetectors with silicon nanowire waveguides is demonstrated. Through flip-chip bonding of GaInNAs/GaAs laser diodes directly onto the silicon substrate, efficient heat dissipation was realized and characteristic temperatures as high as 132K were achieved. Spot-size converters for the laser-to-waveguide coupling were used, with efficiencies greater than 60%. The photodetectors were fabricated by bonding of InGaAs/InP wafers directly to silicon waveguides and formation of metal-semiconductor-metal structures, giving responsivities as high as 0.74 A/W. Both laser diode and the photodetector were integrated with a single silicon waveguide to demonstrate a complete on-chip optical transmission link.

Hybrid Integrated Platforms for Silicon Photonics

A review of recent progress in hybrid integrated platforms for silicon photonics is presented. Integration of III-V semiconductors onto silicon-on-insulator substrates based on two different bonding techniques is compared, one comprising only inorganic materials, the other technique using an organic bonding agent. Issues such as bonding process and mechanism, bonding strength, uniformity, wafer surface requirement, and stress distribution are studied in detail. The application in silicon photonics to realize high-performance active and passive photonic devices on low-cost silicon wafers is discussed. Hybrid integration is believed to be a promising technology in a variety of applications of silicon photonics.

InGaAs PIN photodetectors integrated on silicon-on-insulator waveguides

InGaAs PIN photodetectors heterogeneously integrated on silicon-on-insulator waveguides are fabricated and characterized. Efficient evanescent coupling between silicon-on-insulator waveguides and InGaAs photodetectors is achieved. The fabricated photodetectors can work well without external bias and have a very low dark current of 10pA. The measured responsivity of a 40microm-long photodetector is 1.1A/W (excluding the coupling loss between the fiber and the SOI waveguide) at a wavelength of 1550nm and shows good linearity for an input power range of 40dB. Due to the large absorption coefficient of InGaAs and the efficient evanescent coupling, the fabricated photodetectors can cover the whole S, C and L communication bands.