Hybrid silicon vertical cavity laser with in-plane coupling

Abstract

A silicon vertical cavity laser with in-plane coupling comprises wafer bonding an active III-V semiconductor material above a grating coupler made on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer. This bonding does not require any alignment, since all silicon processing can be done before bonding, and all III-V processing can be done after bonding. The grating coupler acts to couple the vertically emitted light from the hybrid vertical cavity into a silicon waveguide formed on an SOI wafer.

Description

technical field [0001] Embodiments of the present invention are directed to vertical cavity lasers, and more specifically, to hybrid silicon / III-V vertical cavity laser structures used in in-plane waveguide-based photonic integrated circuits. Background technique [0002] While silicon is an excellent material for guiding light and can detect and modulate light at high data rates, it still cannot efficiently generate large amounts of light. Silicon can be an inefficient light emitter due to a fundamental limitation known as the indirect bandgap. The indirect bandgap prevents the atoms in silicon from emitting a large number of photons when a charge is applied. Silicon instead tends to emit heat. [0003] One way to generate light on silicon materials is the so-called hybrid silicon evanescent platform. Indium phosphide, one of several specialized materials including gallium arsenide, emits energy as photons of light when a voltage is applied. Both materials are used to m...

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Problems solved by technology

Both methods are time consuming and require sensitive alignment techniques

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