Telecom InGaAs/InP Quantum Well Lasers Laterally Grown on Silicon-on-Insulator

To achieve on-chip lasers for Si-photonics, monolithic integration using selective epitaxy is a favorable option due to the unique defect engineering and resultant bufferless structure. Among the intensively investigated selective epitaxy methods, lateral aspect ratio trapping generates III-V devices in the same plane as the Si layer enabling efficient coupling with Si waveguides. Here, we demonstrate telecom InGaAs/InP quantum well lasers selectively grown on commercial silicon-on-insulator substrates with an in-plane structure using a simple structural design and growth scheme without any regrowth steps. Leveraging on the lateral aspect ratio trapping technique, uniform quantum wells with high crystalline quality were obtained and shown by comprehensive material characterizations. Room temperature pulsed lasing was achieved on the fabricated micro-ring lasers with a low threshold of 20 mu J/cm(2). The results present a crucial step towards electrically pumped lasers at telecom band as well as fully integrated Si-photonics.

Automated summary

In this study, we achieved the fabrication of high-quality InGaAs/InP quantum well lasers on commercially available silicon-on-insulator substrates using selective epitaxy, while achieving efficient coupling with Si waveguides with the lateral aspect ratio trapping technique. The experimental results demonstrated low threshold pulsed lasing on the fabricated micro-ring lasers at room temperature, which is a crucial step towards electrically pumped lasers at telecom band as well as fully integrated Si-photonics.