Hybrid vertical cavity laser

Abstract

A new hybrid vertical cavity laser structure is suggested and numerically investigated. The hybrid laser structure consists of a top distributed Bragg reflector, a III-V active region, and a high-index-contrast subwavelength grating (HCG) mirror made in the silicon-on-insulator platform. The HCG mirror works as a bottom mirror as well as an output router to a silicon ridge waveguide. From simulations, a differential efficiency of 28% in the ridge waveguide is obtained. This value is comparable to the combination of a stand-alone vertical-cavity surfaceemitting laser (VCSEL) with a differential efficiency of 50 % and a holographic coupler with a coupling efficiency of 3 dB. High single-mode output power and slope efficiency as well as good thermal characteristics comparable to the long wavelength VCSELs, are expected.