Waveguide-coupled vertical cavity laser

Abstract

An integrated circuit includes an optical source that provides an optical signal to an optical waveguide. In particular, the optical source may be implemented by fusion-bonding a III-V semiconductor to a semiconductor layer in the integrated circuit. In conjunction with surrounding mirrors (at least one of which is other than a distributed Bragg reflector), this structure may provide a cavity with suitable optical gain at a wavelength in the optical signal along a vertical direction that is perpendicular to a plane of the semiconductor layer. For example, the optical source may include a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL). Moreover, the optical waveguide, defined in the semiconductor layer, may be separated from the optical source by a horizontal gap in the plane of the semiconductor layer. During operation of the optical source, the optical signal may be optically coupled across the gap from the optical source to the optical waveguide.

Description

RELATED CASE[0001]This application is a divisional application of, and hereby claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 to, pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 764,223, entitled “Waveguide-Coupled Vertical Cavity Laser,” by inventors Ashok V. Krishnamoorthy, John E. Cunningham, and Xuezhe Zheng, which was filed on 11 Feb. 2013, and which is hereby incorporated by reference.GOVERNMENT LICENSE RIGHTS[0002]This invention was made with Government support under Agreement No. HR0011-08-9-0001 awarded by DARPA. The Government has certain rights in the invention.BACKGROUND[0003]1. Field[0004]The present disclosure relates to techniques for communicating optical signals. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to an integrated circuit that includes an optical source.[0005]2. Related Art[0006]Silicon photonics is a promising technology that can provide large communication bandwidth, low latency and low power consumption for inter-chip and intra-chip connections. In the last few y...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The solution provides a low-cost, compact, and energy-efficient WDM optical source with improved electrical-to-optical conversion efficiency, facilitating high-speed inter- and intra-chip silicon-photonic interconnects and reducing power consumption.

Problems solved by technology

However, producing a suitable low-cost WDM optical source remains a challenge and poses an obstacle to implementing WDM silicon-photonic links.

For example, conventional WDM laser sources: have very low wall-plug efficiency (typically, 1-5%), require cooling, and are bulky and expensive.

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