Design and integration of hybrid IIIV/Si mid-infrared laser sources and photonic circuits for chemical sensing applications (Conference Presentation)

Growing interest in Mid-IR silicon photonic devices for spectroscopy, biomolecular sensing, security, and industrial applications, has led to the development of novel class of chip-level integrated components for chemical sensing: the Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) Mid-IR sources, the Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs), and the detectors. In this paper, we present the design, fabrication, and characterization of hybrid III/V-on-Silicon (DFB and DBR) QC-Lasers operating in the 4 µm to 5 µm spectral range. These lasers are integrated on a new high-index-contrast silicon photonics platform with an efficient optical power transfer between the III-V active region and the silicon waveguide, eliminating power loss due to optical coupling mismatch between components. The Mid-IR silicon platform leverages both the design and the fabrication yield and enables collective testing and sorting at the wafer scale.