VCSELs and silicon light sources exploiting SOI grating mirrors

Abstract

In this talk, novel vertical-cavity laser structure consisting of a dielectric Bragg reflector, a III-V active region, and a high-index-contrast grating made in the Si layer of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer will be presented. In the Si light source version of this laser structure, the SOI grating works as a highly-reflective mirror as well as routes light into a Si in-plane output waveguide connected to the grating. In the vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) version, there is no in-plane output waveguide connected to the grating. Thus, light is vertically emitted through the Bragg reflector. Numerical simulations show that both the silicon light source and the VCSEL exploiting SOI grating mirrors have superior performances, compared to existing silicon light sources and long wavelength VCSELs. These devices are highly adequate for chip-level optical interconnects as well as conventional short-distance optical connections. In the talk, device physics will be discussed in detail.