Monolithically Integrated III–V Heterostructure Photonic Crystal Lasers on Silicon‐on‐Insulator

ABSTRACT Improving modal gain and suppressing etch‐induced losses is vital for III–V microcavity lasers. Here, we demonstrate monolithically integrated heterostructure photonic crystal (HPhC) lasers on SOI using selective lateral heteroepitaxy with slow‐light enhancement. The laterally grown gain medium is fully buried inside the InP membrane and placed precisely and exclusively within the line defect of a HPhC cavity. This unique design enables an unetched active gain medium and allows for amplified modal gain via the slow‐light effect. The fabricated devices operate around 1459 nm under optical pumping with a threshold of 21.5 μJ/cm 2 at room temperature and sustain lasing operation up to 353 K with a characteristic temperature of 100 K. Observation of the enhanced spontaneous emission and amplified polarization‐dependent intensity indicate a slow‐light‐enhanced behavior.