Monolithically integrated mid-IR interband cascade laser and photodetector operating at room temperature

Abstract

We report on the demonstration of a monolithically integrated mid-IR interband cascade (IC) laser and photodetector operating at room temperature. The base structure for the integrated laser and detector is a six-stage type-I IC laser with GaInAsSb quantum well active regions. The laser/detector pair was defined using focused ion beam milling. The laser section lased in cw mode with an emission wavelength of ∼3.1 μm at 20 °C and top-illuminated photodetectors fabricated from the same wafer had Johnson-noise-limited detectivity of 1.05 × 109 cm Hz1/2/W at this wavelength and temperature. Under the same condition, the detectivity for the edge illumination configuration for the monolithically integrated laser/photodetector pairs is projected to be as high as 1.85 × 1010 cm Hz1/2/W, as supported by experimentally observed high photocurrent and open-circuit voltage. These high performance characteristics for monolithically integrated IC devices show great prospects for on-chip integration of mid-IR photonic devices for miniaturized sensors and on-chip optical communication systems.