Extending the spectrum of fully integrated photonics to submicrometre wavelengths.

Integrated photonics has profoundly affected a wide range of technologies underpinning modern society1-4. The ability to fabricate a complete optical system on a chip offers unrivalled scalability, weight, cost and power efficiency5,6. Over the last decade, the progression from pure III-V materials platforms to silicon photonics has significantly broadened the scope of integrated photonics, by combining integrated lasers with the high-volume, advanced fabrication capabilities of the commercial electronics industry7,8. Yet, despite remarkable manufacturing advantages, reliance on silicon-based waveguides currently limits the spectral window available to photonic integrated circuits (PICs). Here, we present a new generation of integrated photonics by directly uniting III-V materials with silicon nitride waveguides on Si wafers. Using this technology, we present a fully integrated PIC at photon energies greater than the bandgap of silicon, demonstrating essential photonic building blocks, including lasers, amplifiers, photodetectors, modulators and passives, all operating at submicrometre wavelengths. Using this platform, we achieve unprecedented coherence and tunability in an integrated laser at short wavelength. Furthermore, by making use of this higher photon energy, we demonstrate superb high-temperature performance and kHz-level fundamental linewidths at elevated temperatures. Given the many potential applications at short wavelengths, the success of this integration strategy unlocks a broad range of new integrated photonics applications.

High resolution, high channel count mid-infrared arrayed waveguide gratings in silicon.

Arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs) working in the 4.7 µm wavelength range are reported on silicon-on-insulator waveguides with 1500 nm thick silicon and 2 µm thick buried oxide layers. For eight channel devices, three different channel spacings (200 GHz, 100 GHz, and 50 GHz) with cross talk levels of -32.31dB, -31.87dB, and -27.28dB and insertion loss levels of -1.43dB, -4.2dB, and -2.3dB, respectively, are demonstrated. Fourteen channel AWGs with 170 GHz channel spacing and 16 channel AWGs with 87 GHz channel spacing are shown to have a cross talk value of -21.67dB and -24.30dB and insertion loss value of -4.2dB and -3.8dB, respectively. Two AWGs with 10 nm difference in channel peak are designed, and the measurements show a 9.3 nm difference. The transmission spectrum shift as a function of temperature is found to be 0.22 nm/°C.

III-V-on-Silicon Photonic Integrated Circuits for Spectroscopic Sensing in the 2-4 µm Wavelength Range.

The availability of silicon photonic integrated circuits (ICs) in the 2-4 µm wavelength range enables miniature optical sensors for trace gas and bio-molecule detection. In this paper, we review our recent work on III-V-on-silicon waveguide circuits for spectroscopic sensing in this wavelength range. We first present results on the heterogeneous integration of 2.3 µm wavelength III-V laser sources and photodetectors on silicon photonic ICs for fully integrated optical sensors. Then a compact 2 µm wavelength widely tunable external cavity laser using a silicon photonic IC for the wavelength selective feedback is shown. High-performance silicon arrayed waveguide grating spectrometers are also presented. Further we show an on-chip photothermal transducer using a suspended silicon-on-insulator microring resonator used for mid-infrared photothermal spectroscopy.

Compact GaSb/silicon-on-insulator 2.0x µm widely tunable external cavity lasers.

2.0x µm widely tunable external cavity lasers realized by combining a GaSb gain chip with a silicon photonics waveguide circuit for wavelength selection are demonstrated. Wavelength tuning over 58 nm from 2.01 to 2.07 µm is demonstrated. In the silicon photonic integrated circuit, laser feedback is realized by using a silicon Bragg grating and continuous tuning is realized by using two thermally tuned silicon microring resonators (MRRs) and a phase section. The uncooled laser has maximum output power of 7.5 mW and threshold current density of 0.8 kA/cm2. The effect of the coupling gap of the MRRs on tunable laser performance is experimentally assessed. A side mode suppression ratio better than 52 dB over the full tuning range and in the optimum operation point of more than 60 dB is achieved for the laser with weakly coupled MRRs.

III-V-on-silicon 2-µm-wavelength-range wavelength demultiplexers with heterogeneously integrated InP-based type-II photodetectors.

2-µm-wavelength-range silicon-on-insulator (SOI) arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs) with heterogeneously integrated InP-based type-II quantum well photodetectors are presented. Low insertion loss (2.5-3 dB) and low crosstalk (-30 to -25 dB) AWGs are realized. The InP-based type-II photodetectors are integrated with the AWGs using two different coupling approaches. Adiabatic-taper-based photodetectors show a responsivity of 1.6 A/W at 2.35 µm wavelength and dark current of 10 nA at -0.5 V, while photodetectors using grating-assisted coupling have a responsivity of 0.1 A/W and dark current of 5 nA at -0.5 V. The integration of the photodetector array does not degrade the insertion loss and crosstalk of the device. The photodetector epitaxial stack can also be used to realize the integration of a broadband light source, thereby enabling fully integrated spectroscopic systems.

Ge-on-Si and Ge-on-SOI thermo-optic phase shifters for the mid-infrared.

Germanium-on-silicon thermo-optic phase shifters are demonstrated in the 5 µm wavelength range. Basic phase shifters require 700 mW of power for a 2π phase shift. The required power is brought down to 80 mW by complete undercut using focused ion beam. Finally an efficient thermo-optic phase shifter is demonstrated on the germanium on SOI platform. A tuning power (for a 2π phase shift) of 105 mW is achieved for a Ge-on-SOI structure which is lowered to 16 mW for a free standing phase shifter.