On-Chip Lasers for Silicon Photonics

Abstract

With the growing trend in the information industry, silicon photonics technology has been explored in both academia and industry and utilized for high-bandwidth data transmission. Thanks to the benefits of silicon, such as high refractive index contrast with its oxides, low loss, substantial thermal–optical effect, and compatibility with CMOS, a range of passive and active photonic devices have been demonstrated, including waveguides, modulators, photodetectors, and lasers. The most challenging aspect remains to be the on-chip laser source, whose performance is constrained by the indirect bandgap of silicon. This review paper highlights the advancements made in the field of integrated laser sources on the silicon photonics platform. These on-chip lasers are classified according to their gain media, including V semiconductors, III–V semiconductors, two-dimensional materials, and colloidal quantum dots. The methods of integrating these lasers onto silicon are also detailed in this review.