Compact, hybrid III-V/silicon Vernier laser diode operating from 1955-1992 nm

• Main Authors: Sia, Brian Jia Xu, Li, Xiang, Wang, Wanjun, Qiao, Zhongliang, Guo, Xin, Wang, Jiawei, Littlejohns, Callum George, Liu, Chongyang, Reed, Graham T., Ang, Kian Siong, Wang, Hong
• Other Authors: School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering; 2μm Silicon Photonics; Hybrid III-V/Silicon Lasers
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/153723
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The 2 μm waveband is capable of enabling pervasive applications. The demonstration of the hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber and the thulium-doped fiber amplifier has highlighted the fiber propagation and amplification aspects of fiber communications, indicating its potential as an adjunct to present communication infrastructure at the O/C bands. The above is especially imperative given the current concerns with regards to the upper bandwidth limit of the single-mode fiber. Furthermore, the waveband could facilitate many more applications such as LIDAR and free-space communication. However, water absorption (OH-) is high at most of the 2 μm waveband and this will impact the optical insertion loss of applications implemented in the wavelength region. The relative low water absorption region of the waveband falls within 1950 - 2000 nm. As such, the development of a hybrid/ heterogeneous III-V/silicon laser source that operates within the region is important for 2 μm silicon photonics. In this work, we demonstrate a III-V/Si hybrid tunable laser operating from 1955 - 1992 nm for the first time. Room temperature continuous wave operation is achieved with a maximum laser output power of 8.1mW. This wavelength-tunable laser operates specifically within the low water absorption window, indicating good wavelength suitability for applications at the 2 μm waveband.