Experimental demonstration of a novel heterogeneously integrated III-V on Si microlaser

In this work we present the first experimental demonstration of a novel class of heterogeneously integrated III-V-on-silicon microlasers. We first show that by coupling a silicon cavity to a III-V wire, the interaction between the propagating mode in the III-V wire and the cavity mode in the silicon resonator results in high, narrow band reflection back into the III-V waveguide, forming a so-called resonant mirror. By combining two such mirrors and providing optical gain in the III-V wire in between these 2 mirrors, laser operation can be realized. We simulate the reflectivity spectrum of such a resonant mirror using 3D FDTD and discuss the results. We also present experimental results of the very first optically pumped heterogeneously integrated resonant mirror laser. The fabricated device measures 55 mu m by 2 mu m and shows single mode laser emission with a side-mode suppression ratio of 37 dB.