High-Performance Monolithic Integration of III-V QD Lasers on Si Substrates

Abstract

With the development of digital processes, the speed and efficiency of information exchange has increased to a great extent. Silicon-based photonics allows for large-scale photonic integration through CMOS manufacturing processes, the advantages of which lie in the low cost, low energy consumption and high quality of such processes. Currently, silicon-based monolithic integrated quantum dot lasers have achieved lifetimes comparable to those of heterogeneous integrated lasers and are even available for commercial applications. The silicon photonic platform also offers low-loss passive devices, as well as high-speed optical modulators and photodetectors. However, device performance suffers due to differences in physical properties between group III-V lasers and substrate materials, an important factor limiting the development of silicon-based monolithic integrated quantum dot lasers. This paper reviews the respective characteristics of silicon-based monolithic and heterogeneous integration. The advantages of monolithically integrated III-V quantum dot lasers over heterogeneous integration are highlighted, as well as the challenges, solutions and recent developments.