Broad wavelength coverage 2.3 μm III-V-on-silicon DFB laser array

Silicon photonics is a promising integrated-optics platform for optical communication and sensing applications. Integrating 2-3 mu m wavelength widely tunable lasers on silicon photonic integrated circuits enables fully integrated spectroscopic sensors with different potential applications such as multi-species trace gas spectroscopy and bio-molecule detection. Here, we demonstrate a continuous-wave (CW) operated III-V-on-silicon distributed feedback (DFB) laser array covered a broad wavelength range from 2.28 to 2.43 mu m. CW operation up to 25 degrees C and an on-chip output power of 2.7 mWin a single mode at 5 degrees C is achieved for lasers operating at 2.35 mu m wavelength. Four-channel DFB laser arrays with a continuous tuning range of 10 nm and side mode suppression ratio of 40 dB over the whole range are also presented. This work is a major advance toward chip-scale silicon photonics spectroscopic sensing systems. (C) 2017 Optical Society of America