High Power, Room Temperature InP-Based Quantum Cascade Laser Grown on Si

Abstract

We report on the realization of an InP-based long wavelength quantum cascade laser grown on top of a silicon substrate. This demonstration first required the development of an epitaxial template with a smooth surface, which combines two methods of dislocation filtering. Once wafer growth was complete, a lateral injection buried heterostructure laser geometry was employed for efficient current injection and low loss. The laser emits at a wavelength of ~ <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$10.8~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and is capable of operation above 373 K, with a high peak power (>4 W) at room temperature. Laser threshold behavior with temperature is characterized by a T0 of 178 K. The far field beam shape is single lobed, showing fundamental transverse mode operation.