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ERC-AdG: NARIOS

Full Name: Nano-Ridge Engineering for Densely Integrated III-V Lasers Directly Grown on Silicon

Duration: 1/9/2020-31/8/2025

Objective:

  • Silicon photonics – the application of photonic systems that use silicon as an optical medium – utilises the mature silicon wafer processing technology of the traditional semiconductor industry. Despite progress in the field, the lack of truly integrated optical sources prevents silicon photonics from migrating to higher-volume consumer applications or from being used in data centre interconnects. The EU-funded NARIoS project will build on the success of a newly developed powerful platform that integrates direct bandgap III-V semiconductors into standard silicon wafers, using true wafer scale processes. The primary objective of the project is to propose device concepts that overcome the trade-off between optical confinement and efficient current injection.

INTEC's Role:

  • Although Silicon Photonics, i.e. using mature technologies from the CMOS-industry for realizing complex photonic ICs, progressed enormously, with industrial uptake by the biggest electronics manufactures, its real breakthrough, in e.g. large volume consumer applications or very short interconnects, is hampered by its lack of a true waferscale optical source. Combining aspect-ratio trapping, to suppress defects, and nano-ridge engineering, to shape the resulting material, we have developed a powerful platform to integrate direct bandgap III-V semiconductors on standard silicon wafers, using truly waferscale processes. The exceptionally high quality of this material was confirmed through morphological studies, gain and lifetime measurements and the demonstration of lasing under optical pumping. For practical applications, electrical injection is key though, which thus far has been elusive as the dimensions of the resulting GaAs/InGaAs nano-ridges are too small to directly apply electrical contacts without introducing unacceptable losses. Therefore, NARIoS' primary objective is to propose device concepts that overcome the trade-off between optical confinement and efficient current injection. We aim at the demonstration of electrically injected microcavity lasers for low-power applications and the demonstration of a novel class of mW-lasers with in-plane or out-of-plane emission, exploiting the possibility to grow highly uniform arrays of these nano-ridges. Next, we aim to demonstrate single photon emission from long-wavelength InAs-quantum dots grown on the nano-ridge platform, eventually integrated in a suitable microcavity. These device-oriented objectives will be complemented by two transversal objectives: development and extensive characterisation of InGaAs nano-ridges for extending the lasing wavelength and exploiting novel concepts from recent literature to design lasers resilient to optical feedback and/or exhibiting lasing in a single coherent spatial mode.

People involved

Research topics involved

Publications in the framework of this project (23)

    International Journals

  1. Z. Ouyang, D. Colucci, E.M.B. Fahmy, A. Yimam, J. Van Campenhout, B. Kunert, D. Van Thourhout, InGaAs/GaAs nano-ridge laser with an amorphous silicon grating monolithically grown on a 300mm Si wafer , Optics Letters, (2024)  Download this Publication (4.1MB).
  2. C. Pang, Y. Deng, E. Kheradmand, L. Moreno Hagelsieb, Y. Guo, D. Cheyns, P. Geiregat, Z. Hens, D. Van Thourhout, A silicon photonics waveguide-coupled colloidal quantum dot photodiode sensitive beyond 1.6 µm, Applied Physics Letters - Photonics, 9(6), p.paper 066113 (12 pages) doi:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0206386 (2024)  Download this Publication (8.1MB).
  3. Y. Deng, C. Pang, E. Kheradmand, J. Leemans, J. Bai, M. Minjauw, J. Liu, K. Molkens, J. Beeckman, C. Detavernier, P. Geiregat, D. Van Thourhout, Z. Hens, Short-Wave Infrared Colloidal QD Photodetector with Nanosecond Response Times Enabled by Ultrathin Absorber Layers, Advanced Materials, p.article 2402002 (8 pages) doi:10.1002/adma.202402002 (2024)  Download this Publication (1.7MB).
  4. Y. Guo, Z. Xu, A.G. Curto, Y.-J. Zeng, D. Van Thourhout, Plasmonic Semiconductors: Materials, Tunability and Applications, Progress in Materials Science, 138, p.101158 doi:10.1016/j.pmatsci.2023.101158 (2023).
  5. D. Colucci, M. Baryshnikova, Y. Shi, Y. Mols, M. Muneeb, Y. De Koninck, D. Yudistira, M. Pantouvaki, J. Van Campenhout, R. Langer, D. Van Thourhout, B. Kunert, Unique design approach to realize an O-band laser monolithically integrated on 300 mm Si substrate by nano-ridge engineering, Optics Express, 30(8), p.13510-13521 doi:10.1364/OE.454795 (2022)  Download this Publication (7.3MB).
      International Conferences

    1. Z. Ouyang, D. Colucci, E.M.B. Fahmy, A. Yimam, J. Van Campenhout, B. Kunert, D. Van Thourhout, Compact 1.31 μm-emission In0.45Ga0.55As/ In0.25Ga0.75As photonic crystal nano-ridge laser monolithically grown on 300 mm silicon substrate, SPIE Europe 2024, France, p.130120D (2024)  Download this Publication (774KB).
    2. C. Pang, R. March, E. Kheradmand, Y. Deng, L. Hagelsieb, L. Elsinger, D. Cheyns, P. Geiregat, Z. Hens, D. Van Thourhout, Beyond the free spectral range: on-chip spectrometer with multi-color cascaded colloidal quantum-dot photodiodes, European Conference on Integrated Optics, Germany, p.176–181 (2024)  Download this Publication (843KB).
    3. A. Yimam, G. Morthier, D. Van Thourhout, Accurate Laser Model for Electrically Injected Monolithic GaAs on Silicon Nano-ridge Laser Diodes, Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, p.paper Tu2A.35.pdf (2 pages) (2024)  Download this Publication (1.2MB).
    4. A. Yimam, G. Morthier, D. Van Thourhout, Semi-analytical model for electrically injected monolithic GaAs on silicon nano-ridge laser diodes, Annual Symposium of the IEEE Photonics Society Benelux Chapter, (2023).
    5. Z. Ouyang, E. Fahmy, D. Colucci, A. Yimam, B. Kunert, D. Van Thourhout, Side-amorphous-silicon-grating InGaAs/GaAs nano-ridge distributed feedback laser monolithically grown on 300 mm silicon substrate, Asia Communications and Photonics Conference 2023, China, p.paper ACPPOEM 0731-152 (3 pages) (2023)  Download this Publication (563KB).
    6. D. Van Thourhout, Silicon Photonics (short course), Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe (invited), Germany, p.SH-9 doi:10.1109/CLEO/Europe-EQEC57999.2023.10232529 (2023)  Download this Publication (289KB).
    7. Z. Ouyang, E. Fahmy, A. Yimam, B.Kunert, D. Van Thourhout, Low-optical-pumping-threshold InGaAs/GaAs Nano-ridge Laser Monolithically Grown on 300 mm Silicon Substrate, Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, United States, p.paper STh3H.3 (2 pages) (2023)  Download this Publication (398KB).
    8. C. Pang, Y. Deng, E. Kheradmand, N. Poonkottil, R. Petit, L. Elsinger, C. Detavernier, P. Geiregat, Z. Hens, D. Van Thourhout, Integrated Spectrometer Based on Arrayed Waveguide Grating and PbS Colloidal Quantum Dot Photodiode Array, Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, United States, (2023)  Download this Publication (450KB).
    9. D. Van Thourhout, The Need for Hybrid Integration of New Materials in Silicon Photonics , LIMNI Spring School, Belgium, (2023)  Download this Publication (15.3MB).
    10. D. Van Thourhout, Heterogeneous Integration in Si Photonics, IEEE Silicon Photonics Conference (invited), United States, p.WD1 (2023).
    11. C. Pang, Y. Deng, E. Kheradmand, R. Petit, L. Elsinger, C. Detavernier, P. Geiregat, Z. Hens, D. Van Thourhout, Monolithic heterogeneous integration of PbS colloidal quantum dot photodiode on silicon nitride, Frontiers in Optics, (2022)  Download this Publication (756KB).
    12. E. Fahmy, Z. Ouyang, D. Van Thourhout, Amorphous Silicon side-wall grating DFB InGaAs/GaAs nano-ridge laser epitaxially grown on a Si wafer, IEEE Benelux Photonics Chapter - Annual Symposium 2022, Netherlands, p.poster 19 (2022)  Download this Publication (2.3MB).
    13. Z. Ouyang, E. Fahmy, D. Colucci, A. Yimam, B. Kunert, D. Van Thourhout, Top-amourous-silicon-grating InGaAs+GaAs nano-ridge distributed feedback laser monolithically grown on 300 mm silicon substrate, IEEE Photonic Benelux Annual Symposium, Netherlands, (2022)  Download this Publication (265KB).
    14. J. De Witte, A. Shadmani, T. Vanackere, T. Vandekerckhove, P. Lodahl, G. Roelkens, L. Midolo, B. Kuyken, D. Van Thourhout, Towards the heterogeneous integration of single-photon sources on SiN using micro-transfer printing, International Conference on Integrated Quantum Photonics, (2022)  Download this Publication (245KB).
    15. J. De Witte, S. Cuyvers, S. Poelman, B. Kuyken, D. Van Thourhout, Realization of Fabrication-Tolerant Si3N4-Si Mode Transformers, IEEE Photonics Conference (IPC), (2021).
    16. D. Colucci, Y. Shi, M. Baryshnikova, Y. Mols, M. Muneeb, Y. De Koninck, M. Pantouvaki, J. Van Campenhout, B. Kunert, D. Van Thourhout, InGaAs nano-ridge laser emitting in the telecom O-band monolithically grown on a 300 mm Si wafer, 2021 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO Europe-EQEC), p.paper CB-6.2 THU (2021)  Download this Publication (2.5MB).
    17. B. Kunert, D. Colucci, M. Baryshnikova, Y. Mols, R. Alcotte, D. Van Thourhout, C. Ozdemir, Y. De Koninck, M. Pantouvaki, J. Van Campenhout, A. Vais, S. Yadav, A. Sibaja-Hernandez, B. Parvais, N. Collaert, R. Langer, III/V Nano-Ridge Engineering for Device Integration on 300 mm Silicon, Compound Semiconductor Week (invited), Sweden, (2021).
        National Conferences

      1. D. Van Thourhout, Novel materials and integration technologies for silicon photonics, Belgian Photonics Online Meetup (bePOM) (invited), Belgium, (2020).