Continuous-wave quantum dot photonic crystal lasers grown on on-axis Si (001)
Taojie Zhou, Mingchu Tang, Guohong Xiang, Boyuan Xiang, Suikong Hark, M. Martin, T. Baron, Shujie Pan, Jae‐Seong Park, Zizhuo Liu, Siming Chen, Zhaoyu Zhang, Huiyun Liu
Abstract
Semiconductor III-V photonic crystal (PC) laser is regarded as a promising ultra-compact light source with unique advantages of ultralow energy consumption and small footprint for the next generation of Si-based on-chip optical interconnects. However, the significant material dissimilarities between III-V materials and Si are the fundamental roadblock for conventional monolithic III-V-on-silicon integration technology. Here, we demonstrate ultrasmall III-V PC membrane lasers monolithically grown on CMOS-compatible on-axis Si (001) substrates by using III-V quantum dots. The optically pumped InAs/GaAs quantum-dot PC lasers exhibit single-mode operation with an ultra-low threshold of ~0.6 μW and a large spontaneous emission coupling efficiency up to 18% under continuous-wave condition at room temperature. This work establishes a new route to form the basis of future monolithic light sources for high-density optical interconnects in future large-scale silicon electronic and photonic integrated circuits.