InAs-based quantum cascade lasers (QCL) demonstrated high performance in the long-wavelength mid-infrared range. Hard baked photoresist usually employed for electrical insulation in these devices exhibits some drawbacks related to the polymer nature of this material. Wire bonding is difficult because of the mechanical softness of the photoresist. Besides, optical properties of such insulator can be altered when the laser is operated at elevated temperature. Conventional dielectrics with potentially suitable characteristics introduce optical loss and/or current leakage when fabricated using standard deposition techniques. We report manufacturing of InAs-based QCLs using spin-on-glass that ensured high performance of the devices.
Silicon photonics can have a major impact on the advancement of mid-IR photonics by leveraging the mature and reliable high-volume fabrication technologies already developed for microelectronic integrated circuits. Germanium, already used in silicon photonics, is a promising material for increasing the operating wavelength of Group-IV-based photonic integrated circuits beyond 8 μm and potentially up to 15 μm. High-performance InAs-based quantum cascade lasers grown on Si have been previously reported. In this work, we present InAs-based QCLs directly grown on Ge. The lasers operate near 14 μm with pulsed threshold current densities as low as 0.8 kA/cm2 at room temperature.
The integration of mid-IR lasers with Si-based platforms is needed for the development of smart sensor grids. Here we review our recent results on laser diodes (LDs), interband-cascade lasers (ICLs) and quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs), all grown on on-axis (001) Si substrates and covering emission wavelengths from 2 to 10 µm. In addition, we will demonstrate that etching facets is a viable route toward cavity definition either on plain wafers or recessed Si wafers.
We report new developments of quantum cascade lasers (QCL), made of InAs/AlSb, operating in the long wavelength mid-infrared range from 10 to 20 µm. Fabry-Pérot lasers operated in the CW regime up to a wavelength of 18 µm at 40°C, and up to 21 µm on Peltier cooler, with threshold current densities below 1 kA/cm². Distributed feedback QCL are also fabricated using a metal grating on the top of the laser ridges. They demonstrated single frequency operation in CW regime at room temperature. These lasers are suitable for new high resolution spectroscopy applications in this almost unexplored spectral range.
The integration of mid-IR lasers with Si-based platforms is needed for the development of smart sensor grids. Here we review our recent results on GaSb-based laser diodes (LDs) and InAs/AlSb quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs), grown on on-axis (001) Si substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy, and covering emission wavelengths from 2 to 10 µm. Threshold current densities well below 1 kA.cm-2 are achieved in both cases. Ridge LDs operate cw up to 80 °C and emit around 10 mW at room temperature whereas QCLs exhibit performances comparable to their counterpart grown on native InAs substrates. In addition, we will demonstrate that etching facets is a viable route toward cavity definition.
Sb-based materials rely on the GaSb, InAs, AlSb, InSb binary compounds and their quaternary or pentanary alloys (AlGaAsSb, GaInAsSb, AlGaInAsSb,.. ). This technology exhibits several distinctive properties as compared to other semiconductors: type-I to type-III band alignments, giant band offsets, low effective masses of electrons and holes, direct bandgaps between 0.15 and 1.7 eV.
Conventional laser diodes (LDs) rely essentially on GaInAsSb type-I quantum wells (QWs) confined by AlGa(In)AsSb barrier layers. Low threshold currents and high T0 have been demonstrated between 1.5 and 3.4 µm. The AlGaInAsSb pentanary barrier is needed to extend the wavelength beyond 3 µm while keeping a type-I band alignment [3] even though it makes the epitaxial growth complex. Single mode operation has been achieved with both DFB lasers and VCSELs using the same active zone. At longer wavelength, interband cascade lasers (ICLs) based on GaInSb/InAs type-II p-n junctions stacked in series exhibit room temperature cw emission between 3.5 and 5 µm, including single mode operation of DFB lasers. At still longer wavelength InAs/AlSb quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) benefit from the low InAs effective mass and giant conduction band offset. High performance have been demonstrated all the way from 2.6 µm up to 25 µm, particularly at long wavelength which is an asset of this technology.
The evolution toward smart, integrated, sensors requires integrating III-V optoelectronic devices with Si-based platforms. The epitaxial growth of III-V compounds on Si has thus been the focus of renewed attention for about a decade now. We have shown that the Si substrate preparation and the III-Sb nucleation on Si are crucial steps. This allowed us demonstrating a variety of epitaxially integrated optoelectronic devices such as laser diodes, photodetectors and the first ever QCL grown on Si. In this presentation we review the recent results obtained on the integration of antimonide-based QCLs epitaxially grown on Si substrates. We will show that this technology is very attractive for future III-V on Si integration, and we will discuss future integration schemes.
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