Compact 1.31-μm-emission In0.45Ga0.55As/ In0.25Ga0.75As photonic crystal nanoridge laser monolithically grown on 300 mm silicon substrate

Abstract

Compact on-chip sources with efficient emission in the O-band are a critical component for the silicon photonics platform to realize its full potential in telecom and datacom applications. III-V semiconductors are still the main candidates for realizing such sources but their significant lattice mismatch with silicon remains a fundamental challenge hampering monolithic integration. Hence, we need innovative methods to confine defects outside the active device region. Here, an ultra-compact 1.31 mu m-emission photonic crystal (PC) nano-ridge laser selectively area grown on a trench-patterned silicon substrate using aspect ratio trapping and nano-ridge engineering is demonstrated. Lasing at a remarkably low pumping threshold of 4.42 kW/cm(2) and with a cavity length as small as 50 mu m was realized with the PC nano-ridge device. The laser exhibits a lasing peak with side-mode suppression ratio of over 17 dB and a linewidth as narrow as 1.47 nm under 22.91 kW/cm(2) pulsed pumping. This PC nano-ridge laser opens a novel route to realize a compact light source for future high-density and massively scalable silicon photonic integrated circuits in the field of data communication.