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. 

/pdf/prospects-and-applications-of-on-chip-lasers-1xwe1uu6.pdf

Prospects and applications of on-chip lasers

Abstract Silicon photonic integration has gained great success in many application fields owing to the excellent optical device properties and complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) compatibility. Realizing monolithic integration of III-V lasers and silicon photonic components on single silicon wafer is recognized as a long-standing obstacle for ultra-dense photonic integration, which can provide considerable economical, energy-efficient and foundry-scalable on-chip light sources, that has not been reported yet. Here, we demonstrate embedded InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) lasers directly grown on trenched silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, enabling monolithic integration with butt-coupled silicon waveguides. By utilizing the patterned grating structures inside pre-defined SOI trenches and unique epitaxial method via hybrid molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), high-performance embedded InAs QD lasers with monolithically out-coupled silicon waveguide are achieved on such template. By resolving the epitaxy and fabrication challenges in such monolithic integrated architecture, embedded III-V lasers on SOI with continuous-wave lasing up to 85 °C are obtained. The maximum output power of 6.8 mW can be measured from the end tip of the butt-coupled silicon waveguides, with estimated coupling efficiency of approximately -6.7 dB. The results presented here provide a scalable and low-cost epitaxial method for the realization of on-chip light sources directly coupling to the silicon photonic components for future high-density photonic integration. 

/pdf/monolithic-integration-of-embedded-iii-v-lasers-on-soi-1ev4s97e.pdf

Monolithic integration of embedded III-V lasers on SOI

Whispering-gallery-mode microcavity lasers possess remarkable characteristics such as high Q factors and compact geometries, making them an essential element in the evolution of microlasers. However, solid-state whispering-gallery-mode lasers have previously suffered from low output power and limited optical conversion efficiency, hindering their applications. Here, we present the achievement of milliwatt laser emissions at a wavelength of 1.06 µm from a solid-state whispering-gallery-mode laser. To accomplish this, we construct a whispering-gallery-mode microcavity (with a diameter of 30 µm) using a crystalline Nd: YAG thin film obtained through carbon-implantation enhanced etching of a Nd: YAG crystal. This microcavity laser demonstrates a maximum output power of 1.12 mW and an optical conversion efficiency of 12.4%. Moreover, our unique eccentric microcavity design enables efficient coupling of free-space pump light, facilitating integration with a waveguide. This integration allowed for single-wavelength laser emission from the waveguide, achieving an output power of 0.5 mW and an optical conversion efficiency of 6.18%. Our work opens up new possibilities for advancing solid-state whispering-gallery-mode lasers, providing a viable option for compact photonic sources. 

Optically pumped Milliwatt Whispering-Gallery microcavity laser.

A full integration of miniaturized transparent energy device (lithium-ion battery), electronic device (thin-film transistor) and sensing device (photodetector) to form a monolithic integrated microsystem greatly enhances the functions of transparent electronics. Here, InGaZnO is explored to prepare the above devices and microsystem due to its multifunctional properties. A transparent lithium-ion battery with InGaZnO as anode (capacity~9.8 μAh cm-2) is proposed as the on-chip power source. Then, thin-film transistor with InGaZnO as channel (mobility~23.3 cm2 V-1 s-1) and photodetector with InGaZnO as photosensitive layer (responsivity~0.35 A W-1) are also prepared on the substrate for constructing an fully integrated transparent microsystem. Each device displays acceptable performance. Moreover, alternating-current signals can be successfully charged into the lithium-ion battery by using the thin-film transistor as the on-chip rectifier and also the photodetector works well by using the charged battery as the on-chip power, demonstrating collaborative capabilities of each device to achieve systematic functions. 

Integration of microbattery with thin-film electronics for constructing an integrated transparent microsystem based on InGaZnO.

We report for the first time the direct growth of quantum dot (QD) lasers with electrical pumping on 300 mm Si wafers on both a planar template and in-pocket template for in-plane photonic integration. O-band lasers with five QD layers were grown with molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) in a 300 mm reactor and then fabricated into standard Fabry–Perot ridge waveguide cavities. Edge-emitting lasers are demonstrated with high yield and reliable results ready for commercialization and scaled production, and efforts to make monolithically integrated lasing cavities grown on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers vertically aligned and coupled to SiN waveguides on the same chip show the potential for 300 mm-scale Si photonic integration with in-pocket direct MBE growth.

https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/10/5/534/pdf?version=1683356324

Quantum Dot Lasers Directly Grown on 300 mm Si Wafers: Planar and In-Pocket

Single-longitudinal-mode light sources on a silicon platform exhibit tremendous potential in data transmission, integrated on-chip optical interconnects, and optical ranging. A unique InAs/GaAs quantum dot discrete mode (DM) laser directly grown on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate with embedded silicon gratings has been demonstrated here, which is regrowth-free and compatible with integrated silicon photonics. Attributed to refractive index perturbation and optical feedback from embedded silicon gratings prepatterned on the SOI substrate, this DM laser can provide stable single-mode operation with a threshold current of 45 mA and an output power of 9 mW. The maximum optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) achieved is 43.6 dB with an optical linewidth of 157 kHz. The 3 dB direct modulation bandwidth is measured as 3.6 GHz. The DM laser can be externally modulated at 70 Gbit/s with non-return-to-zero (NRZ) modulation format and 80 Gbit/s under 4-level pulsed amplitude (PAM4) modulation format. Such SOI-based DM laser paves the way toward large-scale and high-power on-chip integrated lasers. 

Monolithic Quantum Dot Discrete Mode Laser on SOI

The direct growth of III-V quantum dot (QD) lasers on silicon substrate has been rapidly developing over the past decade and has been recognized as a promising method for achieving on-chip light sources in photonic integrated circuits (PICs). Up to date, O- and C/L-bands InAs QD lasers on Si have been extensively investigated, but as an extended telecommunication wavelength, the E-band QD lasers directly grown on Si substrates are not available yet. Here, we demonstrate the first E-band (1365 nm) InAs QD micro-disk lasers epitaxially grown on Si (001) substrates by using a III-V/IV hybrid dual-chamber molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system. The micro-disk laser device on Si was characterized with an optical threshold power of 0.424 mW and quality factor (Q) of 1727.2 at 200 K. The results presented here indicate a path to on-chip silicon photonic telecom-transmitters.

E-Band InAs Quantum Dot Micro-Disk Laser with Metamorphic InGaAs Layers Grown on GaAs/Si (001) Substrate

Atomic step guided self-assembled growth of indium nanowires on germanium

We integrated InAs QD lasers on trenched SOI platforms, enabling monolithic integration with butt-coupled waveguides. We have achieved high-performance lasers with a maximum output power of 6.8 mW and a coupling efficiency of -6.7 dB.

Monolithic Integration of III-V Quantum Dot Lasers on SOI

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