Alan Y. Liu

High performance continuous wave 1.3 μm quantum dot lasers on silicon

We demonstrate record performance 1.3 μm InAs quantum dot lasers grown on silicon by molecular beam epitaxy. Ridge waveguide lasers fabricated from the as-grown material achieve room temperature continuous wave thresholds as low as 16 mA, output powers exceeding 176 mW, and lasing up to 119 °C. P-modulation doping of the active region improves T0 to the range of 100–200 K while maintaining low thresholds and high output powers. Device yield is presented showing repeatable performance across different dies and wafers.

Heterogeneous Silicon Photonic Integrated Circuits

We review recent breakthroughs in the silicon photonic technology and components, and describe progress in silicon photonic integrated circuits. Heterogeneous silicon photonics has recently demonstrated performance that significantly outperforms native III/V components. The impact active silicon photonic integrated circuits could have on interconnects, telecommunications, sensors, and silicon electronics is reviewed.

Optically pumped 1.3 μm room-temperature InAs quantum-dot micro-disk lasers directly grown on (001) silicon

Direct integration of high-performance laser diodes on silicon will dramatically transform the world of photonics, expediting the progress toward low-cost and compact photonic integrated circuits (PICs) on the mainstream silicon platform. Here, we report, to the best of our knowledge, the first 1.3 μm room-temperature continuous-wave InAs quantum-dot micro-disk lasers epitaxially grown on industrial-compatible Si (001) substrates without offcut. The lasing threshold is as low as hundreds of microwatts, similar to the thresholds of identical lasers grown on a GaAs substrate. The heteroepitaxial structure employed here does not require the use of an absorptive germanium buffer and/or dislocation filter layers, both of which impede the efficient coupling of light from the laser active regions to silicon waveguides. This allows for full compatibility with the extensive silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology. The large-area virtual GaAs (on Si) substrates can be directly adopted in various mature in-plane laser configurations, both optically and electrically. Thus, this demonstration represents a major advancement toward the commercial success of fully integrated silicon photonics.

Quantum dot lasers for silicon photonics (Invited)

We review recent advances in the field of quantum dot lasers on silicon. A summary of device performance, reliability, and comparison with similar quantum well lasers grown on silicon will be presented. We consider the possibility of scalable, low size, weight, and power nanolasers grown on silicon enabled by quantum dot active regions for future short-reach silicon photonics interconnects.

Reliability of InAs/GaAs Quantum Dot Lasers Epitaxially Grown on Silicon

We present the first reliability study of InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dot lasers epitaxially grown on Ge/Si substrates. Some devices maintain lasing oscillation after more than 2700 h of constant current stress at 30 °C, longer than any previous life tests of GaAs lasers epitaxially grown on silicon. No catastrophic failures were observed. The lasers were characterized to gain insight on the aging mechanism.

Electrically pumped continuous-wave 1.3 μm quantum-dot lasers epitaxially grown on on-axis (001) GaP/Si.

We demonstrate 1.3 µm quantum dot lasers grown directly on (001) silicon substrates without offcut or germanium layers, with thresholds down to 30 mA and lasing up to 90°C. Measurements of relative intensity noise versus feedback show 20 dB higher tolerance to reflections compared to quantum well lasers on silicon.

Sub-wavelength InAs quantum dot micro-disk lasers epitaxially grown on exact Si (001) substrates

Subwavelength micro-disk lasers (MDLs) as small as 1 μm in diameter on exact (001) silicon were fabricated using colloidal lithography. The micro-cavity gain medium incorporating five-stacked InAs quantum dot layers was grown on a high crystalline quality GaAs-on-V-grooved-Si template with no absorptive intermediate buffers. Under continuous-wave optical pumping, the MDLs on silicon exhibit lasing in the 1.2-μm wavelength range with low thresholds down to 35 μW at 10 K. The MDLs compare favorably with devices fabricated on native GaAs substrates and state-of-the-art work reported elsewhere. Feasibility of device miniaturization can be projected by size-dependent lasing characteristics. The results show a promising path towards dense integration of photonic components on the mainstream complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor platform.

MBE growth of P-doped 1.3 μm InAs quantum dot lasers on silicon

The authors report on the growth of InAs/GaAs quantum dots lasers on silicon emitting in the 1.3 μm wavelength regime with p-doped active regions. A growth optimization procedure guided by a combination of high and low excitation photoluminescence is presented for the InAs quantum dot growth. Growth conditions derived from this procedure are used to produce high optical quality quantum dots embedded in a GaAs/AlxGa1−xAs graded index separate confinement heterostructure waveguide. Ridge waveguide lasers fabricated from the as-grown material achieve room temperature continuous wave lasing at low thresholds, with high output power and elevated T0.

Temperature characteristics of epitaxially grown InAs quantum dot micro-disk lasers on silicon for on-chip light sources

Temperature characteristics of optically pumped micro-disk lasers (MDLs) incorporating InAs quantum dot active regions are investigated for on-chip light sources. The InAs quantum dot MDLs were grown on V-groove patterned (001) silicon, fully compatible with the prevailing complementary metal oxide-semiconductor technology. By combining the high-quality whispering gallery modes and 3D confinement of injected carriers in quantum dot micro-disk structures, we achieved lasing operation from 10 K up to room temperature under continuous optical pumping. Temperature dependences of the threshold, lasing wavelength, slope efficiency, and mode linewidth are examined. An excellent characteristic temperature To of 105 K has been extracted.

1.3-μm InAs quantum-dot micro-disk lasers on V-groove patterned and unpatterned (001) silicon.

We report comparison of lasing dynamics in InAs quantum dot (QD) micro-disk lasers (MDLs) monolithically grown on V-groove patterned and planar Si (001) substrates. TEM characterizations reveal abrupt interfaces and reduced threading dislocations in the QD active regions when using the GaAs-on-V-grooved-Si template. The improved crystalline quality translates into lower threshold power in the optically pumped continuous-wave MDLs. Concurrent evaluations were also made with devices fabricated simultaneously on lattice-matched GaAs substrates. Lasing behaviors from 10 K up to room temperature have been studied systematically. The analyses spotlight insights into the optimal epitaxial scheme to achieve low-threshold lasing in telecommunication wavelengths on exact Si (001) substrates.