Chapter 2 - III–V quantum dot lasers epitaxially grown on Si substrates

Abstract

The integrated photonic circuits will underpin the long-dreamed chip-to-chip and system-to-system optical communications. Direct epitaxial growth of III–V semiconductors on Si substrates is one of the most promising routes for introducing coherent light sources on the Si platform. This chapter introduces the direct growth of 1.3μm InAs/GaAs quantum dot lasers on Si substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. It starts by presenting the challenges of integration of III–V devices on Si substrates, and then introduces techniques developed to tackle these challenges. By the end of the chapter the recent developments of telecommunication wavelength III–V quantum dot lasers directly grown on Si substrates by the use of Molecular Beam Epitaxy are described, including Fabry Perot lasers, micro-disk lasers, and distributed feedback lasers. These studies pave the way for the monolithically integrated coherent light sources on the Si platform.